For Colorado Governor, a Long Path to Gun Limits

[Robb]

Great article on how Hick was swayed -- and how we passed this stuff. Lots to learn here.

(snip)

For weeks, aides said Mr. Hickenlooper was “examining” the proposal. He suggested he would support the bill, then hesitated.

But he had seen a study saying that 30 percent to 40 percent of slain police officers had been killed with high-capacity magazines. At a conference in Washington, he talked to government staff members from Arizona who described how Jared L. Loughner, the gunman in the mass shooting in Tucson in 2011, had been subdued as he changed clips. Eventually, and with reservations, Mr. Hickenlooper decided to support the 15-round limit.

“It seemed like in the end there might be more benefit than harm,” he said.

As the bills marched ahead, hundreds of outraged gun owners and dealers crammed the halls of the gilded Capitol to vent. Cars drove around the building, honking like angry geese in opposition to the measures.

An airplane even circled overhead, towing a banner that read, “Hick: Do Not Take Our Guns.”

But supporters say most Coloradans, even those who shoot skeet and store elk meat in their deep freezes, quietly support the new laws.

In December, a telephone survey of 905 Coloradans by Keating Research found that 80 percent agreed with expanded background checks and 61 percent supported magazine limits.

Read More:http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/19/us/gov-john-hickenlooper-of-colorado-is-poised-to-sign-tough-gun-laws.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0