Fight CO Anti-Freedom Legislation!

[SPQR476]

In addition to the national battle to protect our firearms rights, many states are currently engaged in their own fights. Here in CO, a state with a strong heritage of firearm and other personal freedoms, we are facing some extreme challenges to firearms rights. We have been engaged in dialogue with legislators here presenting our arguments to stop legislation from even being introduced, but our efforts did not deter those of extreme views.

After the NRAs visit last week, several anti-freedom bills were introduced by CO legislators, and a very aggressive timeline has been set forth in moving these bills forward.

The bills include:
HB 1229, Background checks for Gun Transfers--a measure to prohibit private sales between CO residents, and instead require a full FFL transfer, including a 4473.

HB 1228, Payment for Background Checks for Gun Transfers-- a measure that would require CO residents to pay for the back logged state-run CBI system (currently taking 3 times the federally mandated wait time for checks to occur) instead of using the free federal NICS checks.

And finally, HB 1224, Prohibiting Large Capacity Ammunition Magazines--a measure that bans the possession, sale, or transfer of magazines over 10 round capacity. The measures and stipulations in this bill would deprive CO residents of the value of their private property by prohibiting the sale or transfer of all magazines over 10 rounds. This bill would also prohibit manufacture of magazines greater than 10 rounds for commercial sale out of the state, and place restrictions on the manufacture of military and law enforcement magazines that would cripple production.

We'd like to ask all CO residents to please contact your state legislators and the members of the House Judiciary Committee and urge them to kill these measures in committee, and to vote NO if they reach the floor.

We also ask you to show your support for the 2nd Amendment at the Capitol on Tuesday, Feb 12, for the magazine ban committee hearing and Wednesday,
Feb 13, for the hearing on the other measures.

Due to the highly restrictive language in HB 1224, if passed, and we remained here, this measure would require us to cease PMAG production on July 1, 2013.

In short, Magpul would be unable to remain in business as a CO company, and the over 200 jobs for direct employees and nearly 700 jobs at our subcontractors and suppliers would pick up and leave CO. Due to the structure of our operations, this would be entirely possible, hopefully without significant disruption to production.

The legislators drafting these measures do so in spite of the fact that nothing they are proposing will do anything to even marginally improve public safety in CO, and in fact, will leave law-abiding CO residents less able to defend themselves, strip away rights and property from residents who have done nothing wrong, and send nearly 1000 jobs and millions in tax revenue out of the state.

We like CO, we want to continue to operate in CO, but most of all, we want CO to remain FREE.

Please help us in this fight, and let your voices be heard!

We have included the contact information for the House Judiciary committee for your convenience:

House Judiciary Committee
Rep. Daniel Kagan, Chair: 303-866-2921, repkagan@gmail.com
Rep. Pete Lee, Vice Chair: 303-866-2932, pete.lee.house@state.co.us
Rep. John Buckner: 303-866-2944, john.buckner.house@state.co.us
Rep. Lois Court: 303-866-2967, lois.court.house@state.co.us
Rep. Bob Gardner, 303-866-2191, bob.gardner.house@state.co.us
Rep. Polly Lawrence, 303-866-2935, polly.lawrence.house@state.co.us
Rep. Mike McLachlan, 303-866-2914, mike.mclachlan.house@state.co.us
Rep. Rep Carole Murray, 303-866-2948, murrayhouse45@gmail.com
Rep. Brittany Pettersen, 303-866-2939, brittany.pettersen.house@state.co.us
Rep. Joseph Salazar, 303-866-2918, joseph.salazar.house@state.co.us
Rep. Jared Wright, 303-866-2583, jared.wright.house@state.co.us

[SeriousStudent]

Holy poop, nobody messes with my PMAG supply. :mad:

Mr. Liptak, do you think letters from out of state would be any help? Or is there a Colorado-based organization we can donate to, in order to help? I'm already sending contributions to the NRA and NRA-ILA, I hope they are assisting the efforts there as well.

Thanks for informing us of this danger.

[3 AE]

"Progressive" States like Colorado, Oregon, Washington are not going to listen to logical ideas and factual data. California, Illinois, New York, NJ, and D.C. have already laid the groundwork to gut the 2nd Amend. at the state level. In the eyes of the Liberals and the main stream media, you and your subcontractors are "Merchants Of Death", to put it simply.

Unless Magpul and other firearms related companies have deep pockets to sustain a continuous media blitz on TV, radio, social media sites, blogs, etc. to counter their agenda, even then it is highly unlikely that the future will be bright in Colorado. There are several states that would more than welcome your relocation to their friendly confines. In others words, seriously start looking at "Plan B".

[TriviaMonster]

There is so much logistics for moving a manufacturing setup it gives me diarrhea just thinking about it.

It would be cheaper to fight it.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[Texas42]

So, how can a state manage interstate commerce? How is thi clearly not unconstitutional?

[Littlelebowski]

Wyoming is calling, Magpul.

[Hmac]

So, to clarify: HB13-1224 has been passed by the Colorado House Judiciary Committee to the House Committee of the Whole? It's not law, it's just cleared the first hurdle? IIUC, it still has to go through the usual amendment shenanigans, be voted on by the House, then reconciled with a corresponding Senate bill, which also has to go through the same process. Then it all has to be signed by the Governor

HB13-1224 is certainly onerous. What's going on in the Colorado Senate on the issue?

[Bigkrackers]

What do the powers that be at Magpul think about what LaRue and Olympic Arms have done in regards to banning sales to gov't agencies in states that have passed anti-2A laws? Are you open to doing the same thing in support of civilians 2A rights?