A novel lawsuit for gun rights
There has been (thankfully) a large volume of legal activity over the Second Amendment lately. Some by individuals, some by a Federal government that is finally taking enforcement of ALL our rights seriously.
The Complete Colorado article linked at bottom is a profile of one of those lawsuits, and it’s noteworthy due to the novelty of the claim.
Quoting with link intact:
“The latest lawsuit, brought by the National Rifle Association and two out-of-state gun owners, argues that the state and city’s carry laws ‘together leave otherwise qualified nonresidents who travel to Denver with no lawful means to carry a handgun there for self-defense.’”
and
“The two out-of-state residents, Greg Howeth of Hawaii and Zackary Dougherty of South Carolina, both regularly visit Denver and would like to carry for self defense, but are not permitted because of the local and state laws, according to the lawsuit. Colorado requires concealed handgun permit holders to be residents, while open carry is generally allowed statewide without a permit unless a local government has banned the practice, which Denver has done. Howeth, who has permits to carry in Hawaii and Utah, regularly flies to Denver because he has a second home in Weld County, but Colorado doesn’t recognize either of his permits. Dougherty previously lived in Loveland, where his current employer is located, so he regularly travels through Denver on work trips. Neither can lawfully carry – whether concealed or openly – while in Denver, despite being otherwise qualified and trained, they argue in the lawsuit.”**
I’m not a big fan of conspiracies. That is, I’m not inclined to look at the way things are and immediately assume they’re that way because of some behind-the-scenes group working toward some nefarious purpose.
I am confident in saying this, however. There are coordinated groups and individuals out there who are seeking to disarm Americans, and they’ve managed to get their policy firmly entrenched in Blue Denver. Meaning I don’t believe the above situation is not entirely a series of unintended consequences piling up, it’s intended policy.
If we can’t outright ban, we just narrow the window to the point that it’s nearly impossible to do the activity we don’t want.
I wish these folks good luck on their suit. Past efforts to take Denver to court over gun policy (interestingly even at the federal level) weren’t too successful, but there’s some new Second Amendment jurisprudence now to reckon with.
**Denver just really hasn’t ever liked anyone carrying guns (I guess except criminals who do it regardless of laws). They fought open carry. They fought concealed. They have a so-called assault weapons ban. More on the fight and the state pre-emption law required to get Denver from a may-issue to a shall-issue concealed carry in the second link below.
https://completecolorado.com/2026/08/21/lawsuit-colorado-state-local-firearm-carry-restrictions/
https://www.denverpost.com/2006/06/05/supreme-court-upholds-denver-weapons-ban/
Placeholder candidates
The Club20 piece linked at bottom was pretty eye opening to me. Anyone who has ever read “The Blueprint” (as I have) or who pays attention to current news is already pretty well acquainted with our state’s Democrat machine politics.*
But even for the machine-politics-elevated-to-art the Democrats play in Colorado, the use of placeholder candidates the author mentions is skeevy.
A lengthy quote from the piece fleshes this out.
“The revelation [of a Democrat placeholder candidate] came while preparing invitations for Club 20’s Western Colorado Candidate Debates. As part of our longstanding commitment to providing a nonpartisan forum for voters, I reached out to every candidate whose name appeared on the Colorado Secretary of State’s website. When I contacted House District 58 Democratic Party nominee Susanna Smith, her response surprised me. She explained that she was only serving as a placeholder candidate. A placeholder candidate?”
“Like many voters probably would, I immediately wondered what that meant. My curiosity only grew when I was later contacted by Alec Lindeman, who informed me that he – not Susanna Smith – was the Democratic candidate for House District 58. According to him, this had been the plan prior to the primary election. Naturally, I checked the official source. The Colorado secretary of state’s website still listed Susanna Smith as the winner of the Democratic primary. Seeking clarity, I called the secretary of state’s office. The explanation I received was straightforward. Colorado law allows for a candidate to withdraw after a primary election. If that happens, a political party’s vacancy committee may appoint a replacement candidate to appear on the general election ballot.”
“The secretary of state’s office also explained that, at the time of my call, Susanna Smith had not yet withdrawn, and Alec Lindeman had not yet been officially declared as the replacement candidate. While paperwork had been initiated, the process had not yet been completed. Legally, the process exists.”
Good Lord.
I guess we can add a +1 to the total of appointed legislators from 2025 (see the Sun article linked second below for context on that).
As the author of the piece notes, this is legal, but legal doesn’t equal okay. Voters chose Ms. Smith, they didn’t pick Lindeman.**
We have far too many legislators that are in their seats as the result of party insiders choosing them as opposed to being chosen by the people they are to represent. There have been some efforts to reform this process (see the third link below), but clearly there’s some room to improve.
That includes reform for placeholder candidates.
*In case you’re wondering, yes, Republicans have their machines too. Thing is, in Colorado that machine is up on cinder blocks rusting away in a knee-high, weed-choked lawn.
**If this reminded you of Biden being defenestrated and replaced by Kamala, you and I think alike.
https://club20foundation.org/2026/09/placeholder-candidates-and-the-publics-right-to-know/
https://coloradosun.com/2025/01/15/vacancy-appointed-colorado-lawmakers-2025/
https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb25-1315
A robin visitation
During different periods of the year, we get what I call a “robin visitation”.
Meaning not just a robin or two, I’m talking upwards of 10 at a time.
They cluster in the trees on the back property line, stacking up vertically in the trees like planes stacked at different altitudes waiting to land at the airport.
Down on the ground they start carrying on and fussing over access to the birdbaths.
My bird cam got some pictures of them.
Keep a keen eye out too for some house sparrows and a starling or two (with its cartoon robber mask and speckled feathers showing nicely).
Oh, and just for fun, I tossed in a picture of the only sweet potato flower I got this year. It’ll be time to harvest and cure them soon!
