Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper reportedly apologized to a group of state sheriffs for the state’s continuing gun-control frenzy during a meeting Friday.
During the meeting, Hickenlooper, a Democrat, expressed regret for not meeting with the sheriffs last year before pushing strong gun-control measures through the Colorado legislature. He acknowledged that his administration failed to anticipate the flack that accompanied the new measures, and also promised better communication in the future. According to KUSA in Colorado, the governor’s spokesman confirmed the comments.
Many of the sheriffs are participating in a lawsuit against the new gun laws, which require universal background checks for gun purchases and limit the the size of ammunition magazines. One of the sheriffs, Routt County Sheriff Garrett Wiggins, wrote in an op-ed last year that the measures could pose complications and problems for local law enforcement.
“The participating sheriffs agree that legal action is a necessity because the new laws are extremely problematic with regard to their enforceability and could pose a drain on already stressed resources,” Wiggins wrote. “The new laws are perceived as being very poorly written with so much ambiguity that a clear understanding of the laws by citizens and law enforcement personnel could be inconsistently interpreted from agency to agency, resulting in law-abiding citizens being unduly arrested.”
Other individuals, for-profit companies, and non-profit organizations have also joined the suit. It was argued in federal court in April.
The pushback against the measures also saw two Democratic state senators recalled, and a third resigned.
Hickenlooper is named a defendant in the case.
