Gov. John Hickenlooper

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“Or Readily Converted”

March 16, 2013 by 2 Comments

Now that HB 1224 has been amended and passed by both houses of the Colorado legislature, a line in the bill that would effectively ban all magazines with a removable floorplate is finally being noticed. And the bill’s primary sponsor Rep. Rhonda Fields (D-Aurora) is not only not concerned about that but fully supports the broad interpretation of the law.

The relevant passage from the definitions section of the engrossed version of HB 1224 in defining what constitutes a “large capacity magazine” reads:

(I) A FIXED OR DETACHABLE MAGAZINE, BOX, DRUM, FEED STRIP, OR SIMILAR DEVICE CAPABLE OF ACCEPTING, OR THAT IS DESIGNED TO BE READILY CONVERTED TO ACCEPT, MORE THAN FIFTEEN ROUNDS OF AMMUNITION

Say, for example, that you had a standard Glock 19 magazine that hold 15 rounds. You think that it is legal if this law is signed by Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) and could be readily transferred. However, you can put a Pearce Grip magazine extension on it which adds two more rounds. That 15 round magazine was just readily converted to a 17 round magazine and is illegal under the law as written.

Denver’s 9 News investigated and concluded the above example is a correct interpretation of the law. Moreover, when they interviewed Rep. Fields, she agreed. She also suggested that people could either get existing non-convertible 10 round magazines or that manufacturers would make 15 round magazines for sale in Colorado. She lives in a dreamland if you believes the latter.

Michael Bane has an extended discussion of this in this week’s DownRange Radio podcast. You can listen to it here. It explains why he is setting up a gun trust to protect himself.

Under Colorado law, Gov. Hickenlooper has two weeks to veto the bill. His veto must be an affirmative act – just refusing to sign the bill will let it go into effect.

You still have time to contact Hickenlooper using this link. He portrays himself as pro-business and now it is time for him to put up or shut up.

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Reading Between The Lines

February 21, 2013 by 2 Comments

Rep. Cory Gardner (R-CO) represents the district in which magazine manufacturer Magpul is located. He plans to tour the Magpul plant in Erie, Colorado today and had invited Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) to join him. Hickenlooper won’t be able to attend because he is headed to the East Coast for meetings in New York, Philly, and DC as well as attending the National Governors Association meeting.

In making the invitation Gardner said:

Gardner, R-Yuma, said the governor could benefit from the tour because, “as elected officials, I think it is important that we educate ourselves on how legislation can affect our constituents.”

As so often happens, the Congressman’s office didn’t coordinate with the Governor’s office before announcing the invitation.  I’ve read two reports on this invitation in the Denver press. In one report (the Denver Post), the story stops there. Moreover, the headlines in both stories are about the invitation and the governor’s inability to make the tour with Gardner.

However, in the other report on this tour put out by KDVR Fox 31 Denver, there was this little tidbit about HB 1224, the Colorado magazine ban bill, and the governor’s position on it.

Hickenlooper told reporters last week that he supports the high-capacity magazine ban; but, during a panel discussion about gun restrictions Tuesday night, the governor appeared to waffle on the matter.

“We haven’t taken a position on that bill yet,” Hickenlooper said. “But I from time to time have said contradictory things on it.

“It’s a tough issue: I mean, how many lives do you save, and how real is the inconvenience to the people who want to have a larger capacity magazine and feel it’s essential for defending their house?”

Hickenlooper’s former legislative lobbyist, R.D. Sewald, who left the administration last year to start his own private lobbying firm, now represents Magpul.

In terms of whether or not a magazine ban is enacted in Colorado or not, forget the news about the tour. That is just publicity seeking by a politician. The important stuff is the relationship between Gov. Hickenlooper and Sewald, the fact that Sewald now represents Magpul, and whether or not Sewald can convince either Hickenlooper or enough Democrat State Senators to can HB 1224. That’s the real story.

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Magpul Draws Their LIne In The Sand

February 16, 2013 by 8 Comments

Magpul has made it more than just talk. If the Colorado legislature passes the mag ban law, they will be moving. Going with them will be one of their major subcontractors Alfred Manufacturing. They made the official announcement a couple of hours ago on Facebook.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
MAGPUL INDUSTRIES ANNOUNCES IT WILL LEAVE COLORADO IF GUN BILL PASSES

MOVE WOULD COST STATE 600 JOBS, $85 MILLION

Denver, Colorado – February 15th, 2013 – Magpul Industries, an Erie, Colorado, based manufacturer of firearms accessories, announced today that it will be forced to leave the state if House Bill 1224, which would ban standard capacity magazines, becomes law. The announcement was made to Governor Hickenlooper, state legislators, members of the media, and in a full-page advertisement to appear in the Denver Post on Sunday.

Richard Fitzpatrick, Founder, President, and CEO of Magpul Industries, said that regardless of any amendments that may be worked into the bill, he will no longer be able to continue to do business in Colorado if his core product is made illegal.

“Our company could not, in good conscience, continue to manufacture our products in a state where law-abiding citizens are prohibited from purchasing and owning them. ” Fitzpatrick said. “The passage of this bill will do nothing to enhance public safety, but will force us to immediately begin taking our business to another state.”

A proponent of the bill argued that with the amendment language, the choice to stay or leave was up to Magpul. Fitzpatrick responded, “Our relationship with our customers across the country would be severely damaged if this bill passes and we stay. We’ve already heard word of potential boycotts if that happens. They (legislators) really need to understand that our customer base is as passionate about freedoms as we are, and staying here if this bill passes would cripple the company. Make no doubt about it…we have no choice, and would be forced to leave in order to save the business.”

Magpul cited the example of the Eastern Sports and Outdoors Show, which was canceled earlier this year after the organizers announced that it would not permit a popular category of firearm, like the ones Magpul makes accessories for, in the show. Public outcry from the customer base forced exhibitors to withdraw from participation, causing the cancellation of the show, and an estimated loss of $70 million of show revenue for hotels, restaurants, merchants, and other businesses in Pennsylvania, where the show was to be held.

Magpul Industries directly employs 200 people, supports another 400 supply-chain jobs, and contributes over $85 million annually to Colorado’s economy. Doug Smith, Chief Operating Officer for Magpul, says that it is a difficult position to be in. “We could choose to stay in a state that wants our jobs and revenue, but not our products, and lose half the jobs we are fighting to save, or potentially the entire business, when our customers stop buying. Or, we can take the company and those 600 jobs out of Colorado to continue our growth and the growth of American manufacturing in a state that shares our values. This is not really a choice. It’s an unfortunate and inevitable result of the actions of the Legislature if this bill passes.”

Magpul was started over a decade ago by Fitzpatrick, a former U.S. Marine. It has become one of Colorado’s fastest growing businesses, successfully marketing its products to American and allied military forces, police departments, sporting goods stores, and thousands of responsible private citizens. Fitzpatrick says that the rich western culture and strong values of individual freedom and responsibility, traditionally found in Colorado, were one of the reasons the company chose to remain in the state.

“It is heartbreaking to me, my employees, and their families, to think that we will be forced to leave,” Fitzpatrick said. “But if HB13-1224 passes, we will simply have no choice.”

 See this earlier post on ways to contact Gov. John Hickenlooper. On his Twitter feed, Hickenlooper keeps talking about growing the economy and adding jobs. Losing 600 jobs due to ineffectual, liberal feel-good legislation will give Colorado negative job growth. I’d emphasize that among other things.