Reading Between The Lines

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.