Free Republic

DENVER — Colorado sheriffs vowed to appeal Thursday’s ruling by a federal judge upholding the constitutionality of the state’s 2013 gun-control laws limiting ammunition-magazine capacity to 15 rounds and mandating background checks for all gun purchases. Weld County Sheriff John Cooke said at a press conference that while the sheriffs respect the judge’s decision, “we believe that it is plainly wrong on the law and on the facts.” “We will take this case to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and if necessary, to the United States Supreme Court,” said Cooke. Cooke spoke on behalf of the 55 sheriffs who...

DENVER - A Federal judge has ruled in favor of Colorado's controversial new gun laws and against a lawsuit filed by many of the state's sheriffs, several organizations and businesses. Federal Chief Judge Marcia Krieger ruled in favor of the defendant, the state of Colorado, in a ruling issued Thursday. "In determining whether a law is constitutional, this decision does not determine whether either law is “good,” only whether it is constitutionally permissible," Kreiger wrote. The sheriffs filed suit last year in an attempt to block laws passed in response to mass shootings at an Aurora movie theater and at...

A federal judge upheld gun laws on Thursday introduced by Colorado in the wake of deadly shooting rampages there and in Connecticut, dismissing a lawsuit brought by sheriffs, gun shops, outfitters and shooting ranges. The two laws, passed in 2013 by Colorado's Democratic-controlled legislature with scant Republican support, banned ammunition magazines that hold more than 15 rounds and required background checks for all private gun sales and transfers. After a two-week civil trial, U.S. District Chief Judge Marcia Krieger ruled the lawsuit lacked standing and said no evidence had been produced which showed limiting magazines to 15 rounds seriously diminished...

Rep. Cory Gardner (R-CO) has been no real friend to immigration reform — a fact that is sure to hurt him this fall as he runs for Sen. Mark Udall’s (D-CO) seat. Today, hours after Rep. Luis Gutierrez declared legislative immigration reform officially dead, and laid the blame on the House GOP’s refusal to take action, more than 70 advocates in Colorado took over Rep. Gardner’s district office and called him out for his role in opposing immigration reform.

DENVER — Hours before the polls closed Tuesday and Bob Beauprez was quickly declared the winner of Colorado’s GOP gubernatorial primary, he speculated that the Democratic effort to tip the race to Tom Tancredo may have backfired. A day later, it’s crystal clear that that is indeed the case

Boulder County, Colo. – In response to the historic ruling in the 10th Circuit Court today, Boulder County Clerk and Recorder Hillary Hall will begin issuing same sex marriage licenses immediately, beginning today, June 25, 2014 in our Boulder office at 1750 33rd Street, and in our Lafayette and Longmont offices starting Friday, June 27, 2014. Because 10th Circuit decisions are binding in the State of Colorado, the precedent established by Kitchen v. Herbert is applicable to the same-sex marriage ban contained in the Colorado Constitution. The Tenth Circuit found that “those who wish to marry a person of the...

Environmental Protection Agency workers have done some odd things recently. Contractors built secret man caves in an EPA warehouse, an employee pretended to work for the CIA to get unlimited vacations and one worker even spent most of his time on the clock looking at pornography. It appears, however, that a regional office has reached a new low: Management for Region 8 in Denver, Colo., wrote an email earlier this year to all staff in the area pleading with them to stop inappropriate bathroom behavior, including defecating in the hallway. In the email, obtained by Government Executive, Deputy Regional Administrator...

A BAD NIGHT FOR DEMOCRATS If you can divine a national trend from a runoff election in Mississippi, be our guest. But rather than pondering the motives of 3,188 Mississippi voters who made the difference in a bitter, hyper-local election, there’s a more useful consideration today. What’s at stake nationally this year is control of the U.S. Senate, and Republican chances of taking the majority went up significantly Tuesday night. [During New York Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel’s victory speech, the stage nearly collapsed. Rangel asked “heavier people on the stage… to take safety over ego” and step down.]

Should be another intersting night! Hopefully we'll build some more momentum!

DENVER — Most of the action on the primary ballot is on the Republican side, with the GOP set to decide its nominees for governor, three congressional seats currently held by Republicans and a handful of state legislature contests. Here’s a look at the top five storylines to keep your eye on Tuesday night.

Tom Tancredo, the firebrand former congressman, Harley-Davidson biker and perennial headache for Colorado’s Republican leaders, was taking fire from all sides last week in the final days of his primary campaign for governor. His rivals were slamming him on the airwaves. Moderate Republicans were warning that Mr. Tancredo’s name on the ballot could doom their chances in crucial races across this swing state. (SNIP) Last week, a radio commercial from a Massachusetts-based group attacked Mr. Tancredo as a “big-spending Republican in Washington” who frequently switched positions. The group, Colorado Campaign for Jobs and Opportunity, has ties to a consulting firm...

Red state Democrats who are fighting to overcome their support of gun control and get re-elected are asking gun control proponents Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly to stay out of their states. This comes after Breibart News' June 4 report that Giffords and Kelly planned to help Senators Mark Udall (D-CO), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), and Kay Hagan (D-NC) get re-elected this November. Now Udall, Landrieu, and Hagan are pushing Giffords and Kelly to stay away from their races. According to The Washington Times, the three incumbents are trying to keep gun control from erupting as a major issue in their...

The Sylvester family has been able to restore their farm only because they are mineral-rights owners. Royalty payments from the energy companies leasing their property have helped cover the expense — already more than $200,000. Without royalties as a source of income, there would have been “no way,” Sylvester says.

U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman’s searing criticism of Former Montana Governor Schweitzer’s ridiculously sexist comments inspired some pretty damning headlines yesterday. But, Coffman’s opponent, Andrew Romanoff, was silent on the matter. And, now we know why – Schweitzer was in Colorado seven months ago stumping for Romanoff. ... Calling Diane Feinstein a prostitute-turned-nun is probably not the way to win friends and influence people, so we have to ask – will Romanoff denounce his fundraiser buddy’s comments? We’ve reached out to his campaign for comment. They responded with [drum roll] silence. ... They say you are who your friends are. Perhaps...

Apr 8, 2014, 6:20am MDT Updated: Apr 8, 2014, 7:52am MDT Crude oil potential from Colorado's DJ Basin gets bigger (a lot bigger)   Enlarge Photo Comstock Images via Thinkstock .     Cathy ProctorReporter- Denver Business JournalEmail  |  Facebook  |  Twitter The estimated amount of crude oil and other liquids that could be pumped from Colorado’s booming Denver-Julesburg Basin has grown to more than 4 billion barrels.And that’s just using estimates from the two biggest oil and gas companies — Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC) — working in the DJ Basin, which...

DENVER—Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper now says he has regrets about signing last year’s bill limiting magazine capacity to 15 rounds, but it’s not too late for him to do something about it. Republicans challenged Hickenlooper to get behind a repeal of the bill after he told county sheriffs that he was sorry for failing to consult with them on the measure; that a staffer promised he would sign the bill if it passed, and that the bill probably wouldn’t accomplish anything. Secretary of State Scott Gessler called on the governor to convene a special session in order to repeal the...

Colorado Christian University has won an important case against the Department of Health and Human Services contraception mandate. Instead of CCU being forced to provide employees and students abortifacients, a federal judge in Denver has ruled that the school can retain its religious freedom. It's a significant decision, and one that the Supreme Court will surely keep in mind as it prepares to decide on the high profile Hobby Lobby v. Sebelius case. The Becket Fund, a non-profit, public interest law firm who represented CCU in its lawsuit, emailed LifeNews the good news: In a carefully reasoned opinion, the court...

In an election year, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper used the F-word to the state’s sheriffs after claiming they never bothered to tell him the gun control bills he signed into law were unenforceable and he had no idea the bills would be controversial. During the last legislative session Democrats who controlled both chambers of the legislature as well as the governor’s mansion passed a series of gun control laws that are among the strictest in the nation. Among them are what the state’s sheriffs have said is a ban on the sale of all new magazines in the state. The...

The federal government’s decision to ban energy development across a wide swath of Colorado and eastern Utah to protect the Gunnison sage grouse habitat has raised concerns the action would inflict economic damage. Although the Obama administration was not expected to make its decision as to whether the bird warrants the endangered listing until November, the Bureau of Land Management’s decision this week effectively puts an oil, gas and coal moratorium on 400,000 acres – roughly 90 acres per bird. The final decision was “pushed back until after the election, because when people understand the impact on jobs, people get...

Top GOP officials are concerned that missing among the IRS’s internal emails are communications with Sen. Mark Udall and a dozen other Democrats who received campaign contributions from the federal agency’s union. The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) first issued Freedom of Information Act requests to the IRS last year seeking all electronic and written documents between top officials there and the Democrats who received the campaign funding, but the attempts have been repeatedly stonewalled. Udall has accepted $13,000 in donations from the National Treasury Employees Union that represents IRS employees ... This is just another instance of Mark Udall...