The opponents of Democratic Senate President John Morse said they turned in twice as many signatures as needed Monday to put Morse back on the ballot. Carting white paper boxes of petitions, the gun-rights advocates said Morse will pay for backing a series of gun control measures that were signed into law earlier this year.
“This shot will be heard around the world,” said Bill Adaska, a retired engineer from Denver who volunteered to gather recall signatures in Morse’s Colorado Springs district. “This is the race, right here, that’s going to show Washington and Chicago that when you come after our guns, we’re going to take you out.”
Adaska is referring to a gun-control package that made Colorado the first state outside the East Coast to significantly ratchet back gun rights after last year’s mass shootings in Aurora, Colo., and Newtown, Mass. The Colorado package included expanded background checks to include private and online gun sales, plus a 15-round limit on most types of ammunition magazines.
“This turns into a national race,” Morse predicted.
Even if he loses his seat, Morse said, the gun measures were too important not to adopt after a bloody 2012. He insisted that he’s never aspired to another office and wouldn’t mind losing his political career over the gun bills.
“Keeping Coloradans safe from gun violence is very worth your political career,” Morse told reporters.