Interesting, and revealing phrases -
Denver mayor Webb: "It is the best of us that are required to save the rest of us,";
Petition signer: "I didn't look at it real, real closely,".
Sounds like the TRT team was out there giving them some grief.
http://www.insidedenver.com/election/0504safe3.shtml
SAFE seeks petition signatures
Gun-control group wants gun show background check on ballot
By Carla Crowder
Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SAFE Colorado jump-started its gun show ballot initiative Wednesday with a gathering at the Capitol steps where Gov. Bill Owens and Attorney General Ken Salazar were the first to sign petitions.
Below them, a cluster of eager gun-control volunteers, clipboards and ink pens in hand, waited for the politicians to finish up before taking to the streets for the tiring task of gathering 62,000 more names needed.
And below them, a crowd of bullhorn-carrying pro-gun demonstrators reminded volunteers of the hurdles ahead and the controversy that surrounds this issue.
"Nobody should be concerned about a background check, other than the criminals and children who won't be able to get guns when we close the loophole," Owens told supporters.
"We're going to let the people decide, not the bullhorns decide. And I'm convinced we're going to win when the people decide," the Republican governor said.
With the legislature ending Wednesday, gun-control advocates used the event as a reminder that state lawmakers failed to approve gun show background checks even though polls have shown 80 percent of voters want them.
Currently, only licensed gun dealers are required to check buyers' criminal backgrounds, while numerous private sellers flock to gun shows without having to check buyers' records.
Wednesday's petition signing was organized by SAFE Colorado, a bipartisan gun-control group that has vowed to take on the National Rifle Association and other pro-gun groups in Colorado.
If the petition drive is successful, voters will have their say on the loophole in November. The group still faces a Supreme Court challenge led by the NRA and Rocky Mountain Gun Owners.
"We will be heard. We will be undeterred. We will not be shouted down," said SAFE Colorado co-founder Arnie Grossman, over the din of protesters chanting "Guns don't kill," and "Guns stop rape."
Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, third to sign the petition, also made a reference to the protesters below.
"It is the best of us that are required to save the rest of us," Webb said. "The best of Colorado is going to stand up and be counted and the loudest of Colorado will just fade away."
Moments later the volunteers took to the 16th Street Mall, with petitions printed up and SAFE T-shirts to match.
Retirees Claire O'Hare, 73, and Jean Grattet, 63, grandmothers on a mission, rounded the corner in front of the Downtown Denver YMCA just before 10:30 a.m. and spotted their first two targets out for a smoke break.
"Do we want to approach these people?" Grattet, wearing a fanny pack with extra pens, asked her partner.
Grattet went for it, and got her first signature, David Cohen, a charter bus driver.
"I didn't look at it real, real closely," Cohen admitted. "But I think there's got to be some gun control. I've got children of my own."
The second man slipped off the to the side. The women forged ahead.
Both O'Hare and Grattet have been members of Handgun Control Inc. for more than a decade and were eager to join local gun-control efforts that sprung up after Columbine.
The women find a gold mine at the bustling corner of Broadway and 17th Street.
Retirement consultants on a coffee break are eager to sign — and to talk politics for a few moments in the morning sun.
"I'm a registered Republican, a fiscal conservative even, and I support this issue," Vincent Vecchioni said.
He's frustrated with the legislature. "Why are they doing all the other stuff that's of no consequence to anybody?" Vecchioni says, gesturing to the Capitol.
"Do something that's good for the people of the state," added his friend Evan Frank.
Two hours on the mall Wednesday garnered more than 1,100 signatures, according to SAFE Colorado.
Contact Carla Crowder at (303) 892-2742 or crowderc@RockyMountainNews.com.
------------------
The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.
Denver mayor Webb: "It is the best of us that are required to save the rest of us,";
Petition signer: "I didn't look at it real, real closely,".
Sounds like the TRT team was out there giving them some grief.
http://www.insidedenver.com/election/0504safe3.shtml
SAFE seeks petition signatures
Gun-control group wants gun show background check on ballot
By Carla Crowder
Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SAFE Colorado jump-started its gun show ballot initiative Wednesday with a gathering at the Capitol steps where Gov. Bill Owens and Attorney General Ken Salazar were the first to sign petitions.
Below them, a cluster of eager gun-control volunteers, clipboards and ink pens in hand, waited for the politicians to finish up before taking to the streets for the tiring task of gathering 62,000 more names needed.
And below them, a crowd of bullhorn-carrying pro-gun demonstrators reminded volunteers of the hurdles ahead and the controversy that surrounds this issue.
"Nobody should be concerned about a background check, other than the criminals and children who won't be able to get guns when we close the loophole," Owens told supporters.
"We're going to let the people decide, not the bullhorns decide. And I'm convinced we're going to win when the people decide," the Republican governor said.
With the legislature ending Wednesday, gun-control advocates used the event as a reminder that state lawmakers failed to approve gun show background checks even though polls have shown 80 percent of voters want them.
Currently, only licensed gun dealers are required to check buyers' criminal backgrounds, while numerous private sellers flock to gun shows without having to check buyers' records.
Wednesday's petition signing was organized by SAFE Colorado, a bipartisan gun-control group that has vowed to take on the National Rifle Association and other pro-gun groups in Colorado.
If the petition drive is successful, voters will have their say on the loophole in November. The group still faces a Supreme Court challenge led by the NRA and Rocky Mountain Gun Owners.
"We will be heard. We will be undeterred. We will not be shouted down," said SAFE Colorado co-founder Arnie Grossman, over the din of protesters chanting "Guns don't kill," and "Guns stop rape."
Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, third to sign the petition, also made a reference to the protesters below.
"It is the best of us that are required to save the rest of us," Webb said. "The best of Colorado is going to stand up and be counted and the loudest of Colorado will just fade away."
Moments later the volunteers took to the 16th Street Mall, with petitions printed up and SAFE T-shirts to match.
Retirees Claire O'Hare, 73, and Jean Grattet, 63, grandmothers on a mission, rounded the corner in front of the Downtown Denver YMCA just before 10:30 a.m. and spotted their first two targets out for a smoke break.
"Do we want to approach these people?" Grattet, wearing a fanny pack with extra pens, asked her partner.
Grattet went for it, and got her first signature, David Cohen, a charter bus driver.
"I didn't look at it real, real closely," Cohen admitted. "But I think there's got to be some gun control. I've got children of my own."
The second man slipped off the to the side. The women forged ahead.
Both O'Hare and Grattet have been members of Handgun Control Inc. for more than a decade and were eager to join local gun-control efforts that sprung up after Columbine.
The women find a gold mine at the bustling corner of Broadway and 17th Street.
Retirement consultants on a coffee break are eager to sign — and to talk politics for a few moments in the morning sun.
"I'm a registered Republican, a fiscal conservative even, and I support this issue," Vincent Vecchioni said.
He's frustrated with the legislature. "Why are they doing all the other stuff that's of no consequence to anybody?" Vecchioni says, gesturing to the Capitol.
"Do something that's good for the people of the state," added his friend Evan Frank.
Two hours on the mall Wednesday garnered more than 1,100 signatures, according to SAFE Colorado.
Contact Carla Crowder at (303) 892-2742 or crowderc@RockyMountainNews.com.
------------------
The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.