XPost: talk.politics.guns, nyc.politics   
   From: TopCop1988@yahoo.com   
      
   Colorado lawmaker facing possible recall over gun-control vote resigns.   
   By Keith Coffman   
   7 hours ago   
      
   DENVER (Reuters) - A Colorado lawmaker facing a possible recall election over   
   her support for gun control resigned on Wednesday in a move that will allow   
   Democrats to appoint a successor and block Republicans from wresting control   
   of the state Senate.   
      
   The resignation of Evie Hudak, a former educator who represented Denver's   
   northwest suburbs, comes after two other Democratic senators were unseated in   
   September, leaving that party with a mere 18-17 majority in the state Senate.   
      
   All three Democratic lawmakers were targeted for recall after they supported   
   a package of laws to strengthen gun control following the mass shootings last   
   year in a suburban Denver movie theater and at a Connecticut elementary   
   school.   
      
   Hudak said in a resignation letter that she was stepping down to spare   
   taxpayers in her county from having to pay for a special election, after   
   budgets have been slashed for mental health and senior citizen programs,   
   among other services.   
      
   "I cannot allow those cuts to grow deeper," she said.   
      
   Among a package of gun control measures passed by the state legislature were   
   laws to limit ammunition magazines to 15 rounds and to require background   
   checks for private firearms sales and transfers.   
      
   Governor John Hickenlooper, also a Democrat, signed the bills into law,   
   angering a gun rights lobby that viewed the measures as a constitutional   
   infringement. They quickly struck back with recall campaigns that succeeded   
   in ousting two state lawmakers, including the then-president of the Colorado   
   Senate.   
      
   Emboldened activists then launched a petition drive to oust Hudak, and were   
   days away from a December 2 deadline to submit the 18,303 valid signatures   
   required to force a recall election.   
      
   Independent Denver political pollster and analyst Floyd Ciruli said it was   
   clear Democrats had pressured Hudak to resign to avoid losing their slim   
   majority in the state Senate. Democrats have 30 days to appoint a successor,   
   and that person must stand for election next year.   
      
   "I don't think the Democrats wanted to take the risk of losing another   
   seat," Ciruli said. "This way, they can keep the majority at least through   
   the upcoming legislative session."   
      
   Colorado Republican party chairman Ryan Call accused Hudak of "sidestepping   
   the recall process" to prevent voters from choosing their own senator.   
      
   "Evie Hudak's resignation shows that Democrats are much more concerned about   
   holding on to political power than being held accountable," said Call in a   
   statement.   
      
   While recall proponents listed a number of grievances against Hudak, it was   
   the gun-control issue that was front and center of the effort. Hudak defended   
   her votes for the gun-control measures in her resignation letter.   
      
   "Most Coloradans believe that the convenience of high-capacity ammunition   
   magazines is less important than saving lives in tragedies like Sandy Hook,   
   Aurora and Columbine," she wrote.   
      
   (Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Gunna Dickson)   
      
   -30-   
      
   http://news.yahoo.com/colorado-lawmaker-facing-possible-recall-over-gun-   
   control-210814188--finance.html   
      
   Gun control protagonist "Lil' Mikey" BloomingIdiot's hundreds of thousands of   
   dollars spent during the past recall elections didn't buy the election, so it   
   looks like the Colorado Democrap Party "saw the handwriting on the wall" here   
   and realized they were going to lose control of the Colorado Senate.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)