Gun Owners
Protest Owens in Grand Junction
Colorado Freedom Report
http://www.co-freedom.com
Governor "Gun Control"
Bill Owens snuk in the back door yet again on June 15 in order to avoid facing
up to gun owners. At previous rallies Owens was dubbed "Back Door
Bill" for the habit. This time, Owens was spirited through a Burger King
parking lot on his way to the Adams Mark Hotel in Grand Junction, where he was
scheduled to speak to the Colorado Municipal League.
Ironically, civil arms advocate Bob Glass previously suggested Owens should
practice his fast-food order-taking skills in the event he is voted out of
office by gun owners in 2002. Owens wooed the support of gun owners in 1998 to
clinch his narrow victory, but he has since advocated a number of anti-gun
policies. While Owens fared poorly in Denver, he did well on the Western Slope.
Sentiments toward Owens appear to be changing in the west. At a banquet
featuring Yale Professor John Lott (*More Guns, Less Crime*) earlier in the
year, one speaker asked members of the crowd to raise their hands if they voted
for Owens previously. Nearly every hand went up. The speaker then asked the
participants to keep their hands in the air if they intended to vote for Owens
again. Of the 200 attending, fewer than a dozen left their hands up, and that
small number consisted mostly of professional politicians.
On the 15th, around 50 civil arms proponents joined the demonstration in
protest of Owens' policies. The crowd was larger than many expected, given that
the event was held on Thursday at 11:00 am and most attendees had little advance
notice. Three demonstrators drove from the Eastern Slope, while several traveled
from surrounding towns such as Rifle.
Melanie and Rick Alber helped organize the event. Rick Kaufman, a founding
member of the local Pro-Second Amendment Committee, attended and gave several
press interviews. Melanie Alber held a sign critical of Owens' refusal to keep
concealed carry information confidential.
Other signs read, "Hey Owens: Freedom
is Not a Loophole," a reference to Owens' support of a petition to
expand background registration checks to private sales at gun shows.
Since last Fall, Owens has also killed a state-wide concealed carry bill,
supported redundant CBI background checks which deny people permission to
purchase a firearm based on faulty records and force people to prove themselves
innocent if wrongfully denied, proposed an increased age to purchase firearms,
and supported mandatory gun storage laws which have been called "rapist
protection" laws because they render guns useless for self-defense.
Members of the Pro-Second Amendment Committee, Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, the
National Rifle Association, and the Libertarian Party attended the
demonstration. While some in attendance varied on political tactics, all agreed
that Owens had stabbed them in the back and violated civil gun rights. Some
members of the Municipal League gave the demonstrators a frosty reception, but
others responded enthusiastically and donned pro-gun stickers. A large number of
passing cars honked in support.
The local paper and a Denver paper covered the event, as did