Posted on 08/31/2014 6:09:51 PM PDT by marktwain
Castle Rock, Colorado sits on the urban corridor from Denver to Colorado Springs. It is primarily a bedroom community to Denver that has had explosive growth in the last 30 years, form 3,921 in 1980 to 51,348 in 2012.
In 2003 the Town Council gave the Town Manager, who is appointed by the Council, the authority to ban the open carry of firearms on town property. In 2014, the Council voted to remove that authority. The current Town Manager, Mark Stevens, had prohibited open carry on Town property.
What resulted were two initiatives; one to approve of the action of the Town Council, (put forward by those opposed to it - a "no" vote would reverse the decision), and another to remove the power to regulate firearms from the Town Council and to requiring a referendum on all future firearms issues.
Second Amendment advocates recommended a "Yes" vote on both issues.
The election process was hotly disputed, with at least two lawsuits and concerns over the counting of election results. Second amendment advocates claimed that many election safeguards were disregarded by officials who reported to the Town Manager. The election was held on 19 August and the results certified on the 29th of August. The election turnout was reported to be the highest in City history. This is due to a combination because of city growth, the new Colorado election laws that require a mailing of ballots to all voters, and because of the nature of the questions.
Here is the wording of the two ballot questions, from crgov.com:
A. REFERENDUM ON ORDINANCE NO. 2014-03 will read:
SHALL TOWN COUNCIL ORDINANCE 2014-03 BE APPROVED WHICH ORDINANCE REVOKES THE AUTHORITY OF- THE TOWN MANAGER UNDER THE MUNICIPAL CODE TO PROHIBIT THE OPEN CARRYING OF FIREARMS WITHIN MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS, PARKS, RECREATION AREAS AND OTHER MUNICIPAL PROPERTIES OWNED OR OPERATED BY THE TOWN OF CASTLE ROCK?
YES ___ NO ___
B. HOME RULE CHARTER AMENDMENT will read:
SHALL THE TOWN OF CASTLE ROCK HOME RULE CHARTER BE AMENDED BY ADDING A NEW SECTION 1-5 TO READ AS FOLLOWS?
Section 1-5. Constitutional Rights.
Any restriction or limitation on the rights of citizens to keep and bear firearms enacted by the Town Council shall require the approval of the registered electors as a referred measure under Section 15-4 of this Charter. This Section shall not apply to Town Council action which makes unlawful the discharge or brandishing of firearms. This Section shall govern and control over Articles II and VII or any other conflicting provision of this Charter, and shall apply only to Council action taken after its adoption.
YES ____ NO ___
YEAH!
I’ve been spreading this news far and wide.
Ping.
Yet another marxist idea loses. I think I’ll go outside and do a celebratory shotgun blast...or two.
Don’t forget to notify Joe Biden!
How does a doosh town manager get this much power?
Castle Rockians! get your head out of your a$$es$!
Seems like it was almost a triple negative. You'd have to read carefully if you were looking at it for the furst time when you saw it on the ballot.
“are m80s still for sale?”
Not real ones. They sell things in Wyoming (just 45 minutes across the border from me) that look like M-80s and Cherry Bombs, but they contain only the same amount of powder as any regular Class C firecracker. Basically, they’re a ripoff.
Thanks for the heads up. I’ve been a bit busy to follow this one although this is my stomping ground.
Douglas County class of ‘82!
It sure has all diminished.
My first thought when I read the headline was of Castle Rock, the fictional town in Maine that features in many of Stephen King’s books. Darn right I’d be carrying, and I’d have it loaded with silver bullets, too (along with a backpack full of stakes).
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