Mortal Danger to Cyclists. Colorado's Gun Rights in the 2024 Election. Suing El Paso County for not getting an ERPO.
Mortal Danger to Cyclists
A reader shared the link with me below. It's the 11/12 newsletter from Green Leap Forward titled "Principled Bicycling".
I thought it would be good to share because, in an issue that seems to generate a lot of heat but not much light, the piece (the newsletter) is a pretty rational, thoughtful look at bicycling in Denver.
In particular, it's an interesting rundown on Denver's efforts at building bike lanes by someone who's a cyclist.
Worth a read. Whether this is a passion or not, it's an interesting look at an issue from a perspective we don't usually see.
Colorado's Gun Rights in the 2024 Election
The link at bottom is another great Free State Colorado interview, this time with Rocky Mountain Gun Owners' Ian Escalante. In it they go through some of the losses and, in a boost for this particular cynic and pessimist, some wins from the 2024 election.
I will leave it to you to watch if you're interested, but I do want to take a sec to reiterate my call for you donating to a gun rights organization. Mr Escalante outlines this in more detail starting at about the 7:50 mark in the video, but I can give you it here in brief.
There is now a way to donate money toward the fight for gun rights that is tax deductible. Go to the National Foundation for Gun Rights (linked second below) and donate to the Colorado Project.
This goes to the national org, but they will give the money back to Colorado. If you itemize, this is a great way to defend your rights AND get that warm feeling that comes from knowing there will be less of your tax money to spend on taking them away here in Colorado.
I personally don't itemize my deductions, so I will continue my previous practice of donating directly to RMGO.
If you don't care for either group, that's your decision to make, but please do consider donating to some gun rights group or another. Given the current political reality, this is one of the best ways to stand up for your Second Amendment rights in Colorado.
https://gunrightsfoundation.org/
Suing El Paso County for not getting an ERPO.
According to the CPR article linked at bottom (quoting): "Survivors and family members of those killed in the 2022 mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs have filed two lawsuits against the El Paso County Sheriff's Office and others [El Paso Commissioners, Club Q owners, the shooter himself among others], alleging that they could have prevented the shooting."
The conservative-leaning Sheriff and Commissioners of course (not the shooter himself of course) being the focus of the media coverage on this lawsuit because El Paso County and the sheriff have not been too friendly to Colorado's ERPO (Red Flag) law.
The argument here is pretty easy to understand, at least with regard to the Sheriff's and Commissioners' parts (the argument made about the club owners relates to their allegedly not providing enough security). Had they pursued an ERPO, this shooting could have been prevented.
Regardless of what I, you, or anyone thinks about the merits of this reasoning, the ultimate finding of the court will have big implications for us all. It will have big implications for everything from local control, to how much "defensive ball" our government will be playing, to your security in your Second Amendment rights.
This story is developing (see the "Related" content attached), and it's one I'll be following. I'll update as I hear more. If you find something and don't see it here, please update me and I'll share.
Related
In the main body above, I reference the fact that this lawsuit is a developing story. I wanted to follow up on that.
I didn't take screenshots, so you'll have to take my word that the story as you see it in the post above was not the first version of it. As a matter of fact, it was different enough to be objectionable to me.
I felt it was unfair. I wrote to the reporter and editor at CPR News to call them on it (see the attached screenshot).
I urge you to follow my lead. If you see something in a news article that you don't think is fair, email the reporter and/or editor. Politely, but firmly express your concerns. It may lead to a change that makes the reporting better: nothing makes one more careful than knowing that they're being watched and others will speak up.