Two Colorado legislators are facing recall elections, the first in the history of the state, after voting in favor of stricter gun laws, according to the New York Times.
The president of the State Senate, John Morse, and State Sen. Angela Giron, both Democrats, find themselves facing recalls after gun activists and the National Rifle Association have led a campaign against them for months. Four legislators were originally in the crosshairs of the gun-rights groups but ultimately they did not gather enough signatures to force a recall for two of them.
The results of the recall will be indicate if it is politically viable for legislators outside of major cities and Democratic strongholds to support any gun control measures. Morse knew that when he voted for strict gun control that it might come with repercussions, according to the New York Times.
"There may be a cost for me to pay, but I am more than happy to pay it," Morse said. "They're going to turn out to ride me out of town on a rail. Symbolically, if you could take me out, that would be a benefit to the special gun interests."
Colorado is a hot-bed for arguments on gun control. Two of the most high profile mass-shootings in American history occurred within the state; the Columbine High School attack and the shooting at a movie theater in Aurora. While those two incidents have helped raise support for stricter gun laws Colorado also has a long history of hunting and lots of support for groups like the NRA.
The strict gun laws that were passed with the support of Morse and Giron included limits on clip size and stricter background checks. In order to make a compromise while the bill was in the state senate the limit on clip size went from 10 rounds to 15 and a provision allowing for guns to be passed down within families without background checks was added. At the time they were passed polls showed that a majority of Colorado residents supported the legislation, according to the New York Times.
Victor Head, a resident of Giron's district, told the New York Times why he supported a recall after the restrictive legislation was passed.
"You can only write so many emails and go to so many meetings and protests," Head said. "They have to listen to a recall. We're sick of saying, 'Let's just wait until next year.' We've got to send a message."
"I am tired of seeing our Second Amendment rights trampled on," Joe Santoro told the New York Times. "We can beat them."
Sen. Giron will be challenged by a retired police chief named George Rivera in the Sept. 10 election. Rivera has never run for office before but decided to make a run after feeling that Giron neglected to pay attention to what her constituents wanted, according to the Denver Post.
"I don't think she listened to her constituents on a variety of issues, the gun bills not withstanding," Rivera said. "I think I have a real good chance."
