Today, the Colorado State Senate gave its approval to a bill that would do away with Colorado sex laws that date back to the ’50s. To be more specific: the 1850s. Yep, legislation now headed to the desk of Governor John Hickenlooper (who’s expected to sign it) is designed to…
It’s been a long time coming. After a bill to legalize civil unions in Colorado fell short in both 2011 and last year, the measure finally passed the Colorado House today. Next, the legislation heads to the desk of Governor John Hickenlooper, who’s promised to sign it. This breakthrough delights…
Update below: As we’ve reported, the debate over Colorado gun-control legislation has gotten ugly, with the most prominent example being executive Franklin Sain’s arrest for racist and sexist e-mails sent to Rhonda Fields, a rep whose son was shot to death. The negative PR garnered by Sain hasn’t stopped the…
Franklin Sain, the government contractor arrested last week after sending racist and sexist e-mails to Representative Rhonda Fields, a prominent backer of gun-control legislation (see our previous coverage below), has now been formally charged with two counts, including harassment-ethnic intimidation, by the Denver District Attorney’s Office. But Sain’s attorneys argue…
The debate over gun control continues to get ugly. The same week Franklin Sain was arrested for sending Representative Rhonda Fields allegedly harassing, racist e-mails vocal, pro-gun audience members at an Aurora Town Hall meeting antagonized Senator Morgan Carroll, who felt the need for a security escort afterward…
As we reported yesterday, CEO Franklin Sain was arrested over threatening e-mails to state rep and gun-control advocate Rhonda Fields; see examples below. (Warning: They’re explicit.) The firm for which Sain works has now suspended him, but that’s not enough for the region’s NAACP affiliate. The organization is calling for…
The subject of guns can inflame emotions. But Colorado Springs-based Franklin Sain is accused of letting those passions get out of control. He’s been formally accused of harassment and more via e-mails sent to Representative Rhonda Fields, a gun-control advocate whose son was murdered, including one that practically invites her…
During the last presidential campaign, Republicans were put in an awkward position by Missouri senatorial candidate Todd Akin’s comments about “legitimate rape;” remember how Mitt Romney dodged a CBS4 question about it? Now, however, a Colorado Democrat, state rep Joe Salazar, is the person backpedaling from a rape comment (about…
Last summer Denver District Judge Ann B. Frick ruled that city zoning officials blundered in issuing a rooming-house permit to Open Door Ministries, which was seeking to launch a group home for recovering alcoholics and addicts in a historic block of Capitol Hill. But Frick has now reversed her order…
Last May, a civil-unions bill died an ugly death in the Colorado House of Representatives, alternately frustrating and pissing off backers. But this year appears to be a very different story. A short time ago, the state senate approved the Pat Steadman-sponsored measure — and while that happened in 2012,…
Colorado Democrat leaders proposed an array of gun control measures today that would lead to comprehensive state policy changes. The proposed legislation addresses assault-rifle ownership, modernizing the current background check system, a high-capacity magazine ban and strengthening mental health resources…
A bill that would grant undocumented immigrant students in-state tuition in Colorado is set to go before a Senate Appropriations Committee next week. Senate Bill 33, aka Advancing Students for a Stronger Economy Tomorrow (ASSET), breezed through a hearing by a Senate Education Committee with a bipartisan vote of 6-3…
Welcome to another round of the back-and-forth between Secretary of State Scott Gessler and the Independent Ethics Commission. In response to an IEC investigation launched in November, Gessler, as represented by attorney David Lane, is seeking a temporary restraining order; see it below. Gessler spokesman Andrew Cole says the suit…
The uproar over photos and messages associated with the Twitter account of Overland High’s Carly McKinney, aka CarlyCrunkBear, offers a cautionary tale about the ways in which social media has changed the professional landscape. But a new bill headed to the Colorado legislature could make losing one’s job for imprudent…
Last week, we noted that Weld County Sheriff John Cooke was among several Colorado sheriffs raising constitutional concerns about potential gun-control measures. Now, the Weld Count Commissioners have pulled a similar trigger, passing a resolution — read it below — expressing their support for the Second Amendment…
Update: As we reported yesterday, a fetal homicide bill sponsored by Republican Representative Janak Joshi was defeated along party lines, with Democrats saying they plan to bring forward a measure that accomplishes similar goals without being a “Trojan horse” for personhood; see our original coverage below. After our post was…
Mayor Michael Hancock delayed paying off a wager with Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake because of an injury. The terms? If the Broncos lost to the Ravens (which they did), Hancock would send a box of steaks to Maryland aaaand do the Ray Lewis dance. Well, the mayor is healed and…
At noon, two days after a Senate committee voted to approve a bill allowing same-sex civil unions, a sizable crowd of “pro-marriage” supporters rallied on the steps of the State Capitol building. A similar gathering took place in May last year following the failure of another civil union bill. But…
Occupy Denver may no longer be making headlines, but at least one city official is still talking about the protesters — specifically law enforcement’s role in a violent confrontation. A recent report from the Office of the Independent Monitor, the city’s official watchdog, says Denver Police and the Department of…
Former Colorado Governor Dick Lamm is one of more than a hundred officials, public leaders and organizations to sign on to the so-called Colorado Compact on immigration — an effort Senator Michael Bennet is spearheading. But Lamm, who has in the past made some attention-getting statements on immigration, says he…
A detailed study of Colorado’s juvenile courts by a national coalition of attorneys who specialize in juvenile defense work describes the state system as plagued by turnover, case overload, confusion and judicial shortcuts that sometimes deprive the juveniles in its care of their rights — and is more likely to…
If they are eligible to vote, individuals in youth correctional facilities should be able to cast ballots. That’s the thinking of Representative Paul Rosenthal, who is pushing a bill that would make clear the voting rights of those in Division of Youth Corrections custody. The proposal is personal: As a…
