Only months after claiming that gun control won’t stop mass shootings, Governor Hickenlooper is reversing himself and calling for a gun control debate. In an interview with the AP‘s Ivan Moreno, Hickenlooper says it’s time to start talking about new gun control laws and wants to see legislation in the upcoming Capitol session.

This is the same Hickenlooper who said in July that he was “not sure there is any way in a free society” to stop deranged psychopaths from assembling deadly arsenals.

“If there were no assault weapons available and no this or no that, this guy is going find something, right?” Hickenlooper said on CNN. “He’s going to know how to create a bomb.”

Per the AP:

DENVER—Five months after a movie theater massacre in suburban Denver shocked the nation, Colorado’s Gov. John Hickenlooper now says “the time is right” for state lawmakers to consider gun control measures.

…In an interview with The Associated Press Wednesday, Hickenlooper said enough time has passed since the tragedy and that the legislative session in January would be an appropriate time to take up a debate gun control measures.

Credit: SecondAmendmentSports.com

When it comes to the Gun Grabbers, it appears there is no tragedy they won’t pimp to prop up their cause.

From an AP report earlier this week:

DENVER (AP) – A man wounded in the mass shooting at an Aurora movie theater is appearing in a nationwide television spot aimed at drawing attention to gun violence as part of the upcoming presidential debates.

Stephen Barton, 22, of Southbury, Conn., was among the 58 people injured in the July 20 attack in Aurora that also left 12 people dead.

Barton was bicycling across the country and staying with a friend the night of the shooting. He now does victim outreach and policy research for Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which helped produce the ad that began airing Monday.

In the 30-second TV spot, Barton urges people to ask themselves during the debates which candidate has a plan to stop gun violence.

Like Ed Perlmutter’s exploitation of the tragedy, we find this push to politicize Aurora galling.

But if all this hype succeeds in convincing Jim Lehrer to pose a question on Aurora and gun control during Wednesday’s Denver debate, we would encourage Mitt Romney to say, simply, “I agree with John Hickenlooper.”

Per Bloomberg:

Tragedies like the “act of evil” that claimed 12 lives in a movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, may not be preventable by stricter gun controls, the state’s governor said.

“I’m not sure there is any way in a free society to be able” to stop a deranged individual from assembling a deadly arsenal, Governor John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, said today on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

If there were no assault weapons available and no this or no that, this guy is going find something, right?” he said. “He’s going to know how to create a bomb.”

And President Obama? We bet he hems and haws. Ed Perlmutter experienced enough backlash for trying to exploit this senseless act. Obama is nothing if not good at reading a poll.

Mike is a 42 year old family man whose experiences in business ownership and the working world have helped him develop political positions that have a fiscally conservative inclination. Mike Donald, like many conservatives of today, is a big fan of President Ronald Reagan. Mike's article, “The Hamburger Stand,” is a window into his “Reaganesque” thinking about the government, the economy, and how the economy suffers when the government intrudes where it should not.

Mike Donald grew up in Pontiac, Michigan and then moved to Socorro, New Mexico where he studied physics at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. He and his wife, Elizabeth, chose to move to Colorado because of the lifestyle advantages it offers for families with young children. Mike and his family enjoy their lives in Aurora, but it's Mike's  concern about the future of Colorado and the United States that impels him to run for public office. 

Having worked in the auto industry in Michigan, Mike has seen first-hand the destructive impact of liberal policies and big union demands on business. He relates, “I have personally experienced how liberal policies ruin lives. I am fed-up with the government intefering in the free market and destroying people's lives and livelihoods! It's time we Conservatives took back the authority of government, and put an end to the madness that hurts everyone.”

The Colorado State House District 42 contest is Mike's first foray into politics, and he wants to encourage his Conservative Republican base to fight for him during this upcoming election season. If Colorado House District 42 follows prevailing national trends, Aurora will be fired up to elect Mike Donald to bring some “Reaganesque” fiscal sanity, and a solid Republican majority, to the Colorado House of Representatives.

From The Denver Post's legislative session Scorecard (not available online):

LOSERS
Rep. Joe Miklosi: The Aurora Democrat, who is running in the 6th Congressional District, was slammed after pushing a bill designed to prevent discrimination against people in biker clothing. Critics said the bill, which failed, was a shameless pander to certain voters, including veterans. He also sponsored a bill to enact a sales-tax holiday for back-to-school items, a measure critics called a political gimmick; it failed.

That's got to sting. Good luck running on that record against Mike Coffman.

One small correction, though. Miklosi is a Denver Democrat, not an Aurora Democrat. He has never been elected to anything from Aurora — he just moved there in February to run for Congress. 

The second, and perhaps more damaging to his campaign, event that occurred this week was The Colorado Observer's uncovering of a back pay complaint against Miklosi by his former campaign finance director. In stiffing his former staffer of pay, Miklosi is setting himself up to be seen as a deadbeat boss. In this economy, or any economy really, that's not an image people see positively. 

To add insult to injury, in the one good piece of news Miklosi got all week — The Washington Post listing his race as one to watch — they couldn't even spell his name right. The reason Miklosi's race in CD6 even got mentioned was on paper it should be a close race, but since Miklosi has proved to be such a terrible candidate and Mike Coffman has been a "fundraising machine" it's not considered close to local observers. Making clear the author only took a brief look at the district's voter registration, and not the quality of the candidates themselves, Miklosi's name is misspelled Mikloski. 

Congratulations, Joe Miklosi. You had the worst week in Denver. 

Reports The Colorado Observer's Tyler Sandberg:

DENVER – State Representative and Congressional candidate Joe Miklosi is under fire for skipping town.  

In a press release today, conservative group Compass Colorado called on Miklosi to resign his House seat for moving outside of the district he represents in the Legislature for his Congressional campaign. [Peak emphasis]

Rep. Miklosi (D-Denver) currently represents Denver-based House District 9 in the State House, but he recently moved to Aurora to run for Congress in the 6th Congressional district.  

Colorado law only specifies that legislators or legislative candidates live in the district for the 12 months preceding the election. That means Miklosi’s move to Aurora is legal, even if it’s not entirely politically advantageous.

Yes, what Miklosi has done by ditching his district is technically legal, but is there a worse message you can send to future constituents than by ditching your current ones?

While some folks may be quick to make the comparison to former Congressman Bob Beauprez who moved into the newly formed CD7 in 2002, Ernest Luning of the Colorado Statesman notes the distinct differences between the two cases:

With Miklosi missing an increasing amount of time at the Capitol for his lackluster fundraising efforts, yet another story about Miklosi's lack of attention to his current district and constituents is not a good one. 

It's clear to most observers that Miklosi is going to lose his race against Congressman Mike Coffman. The question now is how big of a blowout it's going to be. 

With the continued strategic brilliance of the Miklosi campaign, who knows how bad it could be on the night of November 6. 

State Representatives Todd, Williams and Ryden were all missing for committee votes yesterday, including important bills for Todd and Williams.

In case of unintended irony, Representative Nancy Todd (D-Aurora) missed a vote on designating 9/11 as Patriot Day to spend the afternoon at a political event at a military base. 

Representative Angela Williams (D-Aurora) missed votes on a bill to help cottage industry food producers, the so-called "Cake Bill", and a bill to keep business regulations the same for businesses throughout the application process, known as the CLEAR Act. 

Representative Su Ryden (D-Aurora) missed a vote on a technical bill.

The great irony of this entire situation is Democrats spent yesterday morning whining to reporters about Republicans holding a press conference at the Capitol to respond to Obama's taxpayer funded campaign trip. Not only was the titular head of their party here on the taxpayer's dime, but their own state legislators couldn't be bothered to even show up for votes — you know…the job they were elected to do.  

Will this be a regular occurrence over the legislative session? Will Democrats ditch their day jobs at the Capitol every time Obama makes a campaign speech in Colorado? If they're just going to be props in a political campaign, maybe Obama's re-elect should be paying their salaries, not the taxpayers of Colorado. 

(Nancy Todd Photo Credit: Colorado News Agency)