Politics & Government

SB17-027 would increase the penalty for texting and driving by $300 and four points per offense.

Colorado supporters of President Donald Trump made their presence known on Saturday, March 4, by staging a rally on the steps of the State Capitol building. Hundreds came to the rally, some wearing patriotic costumes (like Uncle Sam suits) and others waving “Don’t Tread on Me” or “Trump/Pence” flags. By…

Early on March 6, North Korea launched four missiles off the country’s west coast, and Colorado Senator Cory Gardner is calling for a strong U.S. response, including new sanctions and a speed up in deploying a system designed to shoot down such projectiles before they can reach their destinations.

Team America PAC, an organization backed by Tom Tancredo, a former Colorado congressman and two-time gubernatorial candidate who ran for President in 2008, has been dubbed a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Since Tancredo, a longtime conservative, considers SPLC to be a dubious organization whose left-wing agenda is designed to collect as much cash as possible, he isn’t especially upset by this designation. But he’s admittedly irritated by a 7News report on the subject that he sees as having essentially endorsed the hate-group tag.

President Donald Trump’s hard-line stance on immigration has sent immigrants, their attorneys and sanctuary cities like Denver into a tizzy. Rumors of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and checkpoints are running rampant, and local attorneys are scrambling to provide accurate information to concerned, often frightened immigrants. Keep reading for ten…

Surely you’ve heard about the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus. There’s an entire website dedicated to the rare and endangered species, complete with news articles, FAQs, tree octopus sightings, even a store. According to the site: The Pacific Northwest tree octopus (Octopus paxarbolis) can be found in the temperate rainforests of…

When asked about the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to reject the Independence Institute’s appeal of a decision involving issue ads mentioning Senator Michael Bennet and ex-Senator Mark Udall, Jon Caldara, the think tank’s president, says, “I blame all the people who murdered Antonin Scalia.”

“How many of you have heard rumors or have fears about immigration enforcement?” asks Julie Gonzales in Spanish before a packed room. Multiple hands shoot up into the air. “I’m concerned that immigration will come to my house and knock on the door,” one man says. “There are rumors about…

The first person Brad Allen came out to was his brother. Growing up in a conservative Christian family in the South, Allen was convinced his homosexuality was a sin, and he wanted to change it. “I told my brother, and we did research to find out what we could do…

Senator Cory Gardner isn’t alone when it comes to a lack of in-person town halls, given that Senator Michael Bennet hasn’t held one since 2014, as we reported earlier today. But while Bennet is able to bash President Donald Trump for conflicts of interest, among other things, Gardner, as the National Republican Senatorial Committee chair, finds himself in the uncomfortable position of having to maintain loyalty to the chief executive even as evidence of alleged improprieties among his cabinet appointees continues to mount, as demonstrated by the grilling he received on National Public Radio this morning in regard to serious questions about Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

#ClawAndOrder, a hot, hot, hot Twitter hashtag created by HBO’s John Oliver and his staff at Last Week Tonight, is connected to a contest involving Neil Gorsuch, the Colorado-born judge nominated for the U.S. Supreme Court by President Donald Trump, and three lobsters named Cindy Clawford, Pinchers Von Shellington III and Mike. Yes, just Mike.

Congress is back in session, and political pundits in the Beltway are still digesting President Donald Trump’s address. But outside Washington, D.C., the activism continues. Here are more political education and advocacy events in metro Denver this week.

The DOC has 1052 immigrant inmates with ICE detainers, costing the prison system approximately $37 million a year. Of those, 410 are past their parole eligibility date.

Last night, during his first prime-time address before members of Congress, President Donald Trump touted his agenda, including a series of controversial immigration policies. Afterward, Astrid Silver, an undocumented immigrant, offered a Spanish-language rebuttal on behalf of the Democratic Party, and her comments about the millions “who are an integral part of this country and who constitute the values and the promise of the United States” are perfectly symbolized by Denver’s Marco Dorado. After all, his entire life is a refutation of the idea that every undocumented immigrant should immediately be shipped back to his or her native country.

On Friday, February 24, Denver dignitaries including Mayor Michael Hancock and Regional Transportation Department general manager and CEO Dave Genova gathered at the Iliff Station for a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the completion of the R Line. But not everyone was there to celebrate: Low-income residents are demanding a better deal.

“There’s been frustration, there’s been some angst,” Erik Soliván acknowledged before Denver’s 45-member Commission to End Homelessness. That includes commission members struggling with “finding a reason to come to these meetings and finding a direction,” he added. “I hear you. I want to begin a new dialogue and ask all…

When Colorado Representative Susan Lontine proposed legislation to eliminate the state tax on tampons and other feminine hygiene products, she saw it as a matter of basic fairness. But she says the debate over the bill has devolved into a partisan issue whose opponents seem flat-out angry about the idea.

Much like they did during the Obama administration, angry constituents are taking to town hall meetings to air their grievances with the current president. But instead of angry tea partiers heckling Democrats, this time it’s irate Democrats yelling at Republicans. No one’s feeling the heat more in Colorado than Republican…

The Meyer Law Office, which specializes in immigration law, has published a video proving that undercover ICE agents are entering Denver courthouses to make arrests.

Senator Cory Gardner is among Republican lawmakers who thus far in 2017 haven’t scheduled any town hall meetings of the sort called for by his critics, who portray him as a virtual rubber stamp for President Trump even though he announced that he wouldn’t vote for The Donald last October. But Indivisible Front Range Resistance is among the groups that is staging a Gardner town hall in Denver tonight anyway (get details below), and Katie Farnan, one of the main organizers, says the event will go on whether the senator shows up or not.

In September 2016, when the City of Denver announced a temporary directive that would allow for ninety day expulsions of drug users — proven or suspected — from Denver’s parks, the ACLU of Colorado immediately called the directive “unconstitutional.”

Since 2015, an organization now called Free the Nipple Fort Collins has fought to remove the words “the breast or breasts of a female” from the community’s public-indecency ordinance. Now, a federal judge has issued an injunction against the city over the rule on Constitutional grounds, essentially killing it.