In May, House Minority Leader Hugh McKean accidentally voted to support House Bill 1298 when he pushed the wrong electronic voting button. CSSA opposed this legislation, along with every other piece of gun control legislation brought forward this year. Let us be clear: These bills and the lawmakers that bring them forward violate every Coloradan’s constitutional and civil right to keep and bear arms, and there can be no ambiguity as to any of them. We will continue to oppose any effort and any candidate hostile to gun rights.
However, intentions matter, and Leader McKean has been a consistent and tireless champion of the right of the people to keep and bear arms, even in the face of the knee-jerk, emotionally charged bills this legislature has sought to ram through to appease hysterical reactionaries. Leader McKean's “Yes" vote, while regrettable, was clearly inadvertent and did not change the outcome of the vote. And although the majority leadership endeavored to prevent him from correcting the record, last night he did so when the bill came up again in the House and he voted against it.
In light of badly misguided attacks on Leader McKean from ostensibly pro-gun organizations, CSSA wishes to clarify that we stand by Leader McKean. These short-sighted and disingenuous efforts are not productive, and throwing a pro-2A legislator to wolves for a clerical error only hurts the cause. Winning back our rights in Colorado is possible, but we have a challenging and narrow path to get there. As gun owners, we will only succeed if we pull in the same direction. You can be sure that anti-gun politicians revel in the political gift that this infighting has handed them. Let's not jeopardize our path to a pro-gun majority when we need it most.