Sen Sullivan & Coleman on SB25-003 killing gun shops (and, it fits with their earlier behavior). Exempting Ag buildings from energy regs bill up for committee this week. Check out Liberty Scorecard!

Senators Sullivan and Coleman respond to gun store owner's concerns over SB25-003 drastically harming their business.

What did they say? I'll quote the Colorado Sun article below where they gave their responses to gun shop owners' concerns.

Sullivan:


"The bill’s main sponsor, state Sen. Tom Sullivan, D-Centennial, dismissed claims that the policy could put gun stores out of business. 'I am not the least bit concerned about what it is they are going to do,' Sullivan said. 'They’re very resourceful. They will figure it out. They have figured it out over the 240 years of our republic, they will figure this out.'”

Coleman:

"Senate President James Coleman, a Denver Democrat, said the impact of Senate Bill 3 on Colorado gun sellers isn’t top of mind. 'I look forward to the bill being in committee to hear other perspectives about how this can impact business and how it can impact owners,' Coleman said, 'but the primary focus for us is making sure that we are committed to the safety of the public and people in Colorado.'”

This cavalier attitude to the livelihoods of fellow Coloradans is sadly nothing new for Colorado Democrats. Sen Sullivan's obvious animus to guns, gun owners, law-abiding users, is also well known. Surprising to me here is Sen Coleman's logical fallacy that we must somehow choose between having guns and being safe. The two are not exclusive.

Reading about these two sparked something in my brain. This is unfortunately not the first time this duo has been together on guns. Back in 2023 Sen Coleman chaired a committee hearing where Sen Sullivan was a member. This committee was hearing a gun bill.

As you can read about in an open letter I wrote at the time, and in the committee audio (see the second link below for the contemporaneous newsletter I wrote), Sen Sullivan attacked and impugned a couple of citizen witnesses who were speaking in opposition to the bill.

Let me reiterate for emphasis. Sen Sullivan accused two people who took time out of their day to come to the capitol, ordinary citizens, of profiteering of the deaths of others.

Senator Coleman, for his part, did nothing to rein this in.

This behavior by Senator Sullivan, attacking citizens who are there to speak to their government, the blinkered and unswaying devotion to what he thinks right, and the callous disregard of anything other than what he thinks right are the obvious outcome of electing candidates who focus solely on one issue, one issue informed by their own personal hurt.

The citizens of this state are due better.

I have a favor to ask. If you listen to or attend the hearing (testify or not) and hear Senator Sullivan attack a witness as he did before, would you please note the time and then message to me?

I would like to note and call out this behavior because we know almost no one in the media will (almost no one did in 2023).

https://coloradosun.com/2025/01/24/colorado-gun-stores-semiautomatic-ban/

https://open.substack.com/pub/coloradoaccountabilityproject/p/an-open-letter-to-senators-sullivan?r=15ij6n&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

Related:

I wanted to call your attention to another Senator Sullivan quote from the Sun article I posted about above (re-copied the link here for convenience).

The quote is attached as a screenshot.

I wrote the reporters about this particular quote because it stuck out that neither seemed to challenge or investigate the rather big assertion made by Senator Sullivan here (and, as I've noted before, big claims need big evidence).

There are two claims at play: one, that the shooters illegally got 15 round magazines, and, two, that the illegal 15 round magazines were out in the open, for sale near both shooters--"just down the street" in fact.

I won't quote Mr. Paul from the Sun because I didn't inform him I wanted a quote, but I do feel comfortable telling you that, with regard to the first claim, Mr. Paul said there was nothing in the trial record showing where the shooters got their magazines.

With regard to the second of Sen Sullivan's claims, Mr. Paul did not check up on the claim that the magazines were for sale "just down the street" from the shooters.

This strikes me as a prime example of the media NOT applying the Trumpian modifier "without evidence" to the claims of some politicians while assiduously remembering to apply them to others.

I.e. another double standard.

https://coloradosun.com/2025/01/24/colorado-gun-stores-semiautomatic-ban/

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(Finally) exempting Ag buildings from energy efficiency requirements is up for committee Thurs 1/30 at 1:30 PM.

I posted in the past about a bill to exempt Ag buildings from Colorado's energy efficiency standards for large buildings. The bill is up for its committee hearing on the 30th. I link to it at bottom if you are not familiar or need a refresher.

Ahead of testifying (if I can) at that hearing, I wrote an open email to the sponsors and the committee in support of the bill.

If you are wanting to speak up, you'll find the committee in the bill link and from there you can sign up. If my email below is helpful in some way, please feel free to use any part of it.

Stand up. Speak up.

An open email to the sponsors of SB25-039, Agricultural Buildings Exempt from Energy Use Requirements, and the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.

Hello to all,

My name is Cory Gaines. I am a resident of Logan County and I am writing you this open email in support of SB25-039.

The impetus for this bill comes from a 2021 bill, HB21-1286, which required energy efficiency standards for large buildings.

Regardless of anyone's particular opinion of the 2021 bill, buildings for agricultural purposes were to have been exempted from the requirements. It says so right in the text.

The reason being that, as I found out quickly upon moving to a rural area from the Front Range, agriculture and rural life are different from that along the Front Range. Regulations in one area often do not translate well to the other.

Despite this, the Colorado Energy Office has more than once tried to put their rules onto agricultural buildings. I have heard about it more than once and when I ask the people at CEO about it, I always get the same sort of footsie-playing in their emailed responses.

This year's bill, SB25-039 is a long time coming and apparently a needed response to the CEO's repeated confusion.

Of all the difficulties that producers in this state face (e.g. market pressures, culling of flocks) please let's try to reduce as many government additions to the list as possible.

Make it clear what should have been easy enough to read in the earlier law. Vote to exempt large Ag buildings from requirements based on buildings suited to other purposes.

Thank you,

C

https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb25-039

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Liberty Scorecard: another great way to stay on top of what the legislature is doing!

I am a little late to the party on this, but better late than never.

I have mentioned a few options over the last couple or so weeks for staying on top of what the legislature is doing. To the folks over at Liberty Scorecard: I'm sorry I forgot!

Liberty Scorecard (see the link below) is a great way for liberty-minded people to stay on top of what the Colorado legislature is doing. I signed up for their email updates and recommend you do the same.

Every so often during the Assembly session you'll get an email outlining some bills you will either want to support or be concerned about.

Worth the price of entering your email and sorry it took this long to get them up here!

https://libertyscorecardco.us/#/