Where is Governor Hickenlooper on the job-killing gun bill, HB1224, that would ban standard capacity magazines over 15 rounds? No one seems to know. Not House Democrats, and not his own spokesman it appears.
If Hickenlooper had truly made up his mind he’d say so himself. Which he hasn’t.
Tim Hoover of The Denver Post reports today that Hick’s mixed messaging on gun bills, especially the magazine ban, has got Democrats’ heads spinning:
Gov. John Hickenlooper’s back-and-forth positions this month on a bill to limit rounds in gun magazines caused House Democrats last week to do a double-take.
House Bill 1224 had already passed the Democratic-controlled House over the angry protests of Republicans, who questioned how the state’s pro-business governor would sign legislation after a gun magazine manufacturer threatened to leave Colorado.
…So it was surprising to Democrats last week when the Democratic governor, in an interview with Colorado Public Radio, said he hadn’t taken a stance on House Bill 1224. Hickenlooper didn’t clarify the confusion on Sunday, when he appeared on CBS’s Face the Nation and did not outline his stance on magazine limits despite a question touching on the topic.
Hickenlooper is in what may be the toughest political bind of his charmed tenure as governor, having to choose between his pro-business, moderate tendencies and not infuriating his political allies to whom he’s allegedly promised support for their job killing legislation.
After all, a number of vulnerable Democrats, most particularly Rep. Mike “One Term” McLachlan (D-Durango) have already gone out on a shaky political limb to vote for the bill. Will Hickenlooper make that move all for naught?
Times a ticking to make a decision. Will it be jobs or feel-good gun grabbing?
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