John Hickenlooper: The Universal Background Check Works in Colorado

RUSH EXCERPT:

HICKENLOOPER: “To get, you know, people together and get hard things done. That might be impossible with him, but that’s — you know, we fought the NRA. We’re the only purple state to actually get universal background checks passed. And we did that by, you know, going right at them. In the end, they would not be — listen to reason. I mean, every Republican business person I knew was in favor of universal background checks. And finally, when we got the data — you know, in a state like Colorado, like 5.5 million people, getting half the gun purchases in 2012. There were 38 people who’d been convicted of homicide who tried to buy a gun, and we stopped them. 133 people convicted of sexual assault. 1,300 people convicted of felony assault. In all, there were 3,000 people convicted of violent crimes. And the Republican legislators were still saying, you know, “Well, crooks aren’t stupid. They won’t get a — they’re not gonna get a background check. Why should the rest of us spend ten bucks and wait around?” And in the end, there were 140 people when they came to pick up their gun, we arrested them for an outstanding warrant for a violent crime.”