FOXNews.com: Colorado state senators recalled over gun control support

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Colorado state senators recalled over gun control support Sep 11th 2013, 04:00 By Joseph Weber Published September 11, 2013 FoxNews.com FILE: This image shows Colorado Democratic State Senate President John Morse, left, and state Sen. Angela Giron, D-Pueblo.AP The president of Colorado's state senate conceded defeat Tuesday night in a recall election brought about by his support for tougher gun control laws.  With 94 percent of the projected vote counted, voters in Colorado Springs favored recalling Democrat John Morse by 51 percent to 49 percent.  Early voting, not including ballots cast today, shows the effort to recall Senate President John Morse ahead by 52 to 48 percent. The early vote tally accounted for about 45 percent of the vote in Morse's Colorado Springs district. "We as the Democratic party will continue to fight," Morse told supporters in Colorado Springs as he conceded the race. Republican Bernie Herpin, a former Colorado Springs city councilman, will replace him. Elsewhere in the state, the effort to recall Sen. Angela Giron (D-Pueblo County) also appeared to be on track to succeed. With about 45 percent of projected results in, 56 percent of voters favored the recall. Republican George Rivera, a former deputy police chief, would take Giron's seat should she be recalled. The votes mark the first time in Colorado history that a state lawmaker has faced a recall effort and the biggest backlash in states that passed tougher gun-control laws following two mass shootings last year – at an Aurora, Colo., movie theater and a Newtown, Conn., elementary school. Democratic-leaning Connecticut, Maryland, and New York also passed tougher gun laws without a recall effort making a state ballot. The states' effort came after President Obama's unsuccessful attempt to get Congress to pass stricter federal laws – including tighter background checks and bans on assault weapons and high-capacity gun magazines. In Colorado Springs, the majority of registered voters are Democrats, but many are conservative-leaning. 23 percent of them, in fact, signed the petition to recall Morse, according to The Denver Post. The National Rifle Association and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg lined up on opposite sides of the recall effort, led by gun-rights advocates upset over the legislation and how the hearings were conducted. Both state legislators voted for 15-round limits on ammunition magazines and for expanded background checks on private gun sales. The legislation passed Colorado's Democrat-led legislature without any Republican support and was signed into law by Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper, who had initially rejected calls for stronger gun control laws. Morse, a former police chief in suburban Colorado Springs, said Colorado's gun laws were commonsense ideas to reduce fatalities in mass shootings. He was first elected to the Colorado Senate in 2006. Reported contributions to Morse and Giron totaled about $3 million, dwarfing the reported amount raised by gun activists who petitioned for the recall, though some independent groups didn't have to report spending. Both the NRA and Bloomberg contributed more than $300,000 to the pro- and anti-recall campaigns. In addition, dozens of elected county sheriffs have sued to block the gun laws. One of the Morse recall organizers, Timothy Knight, said supporters are upset that lawmakers limited debate on the gun legislation and seemed more inclined to take cues from the White House than their constituents. "If the people had been listened to, these recalls wouldn't be happening," Knight said. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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