John Morse: Facing Fire from the NRA

John Morse: Facing Fire from the NRA

By: Frances Asbury

East View High School

Georgetown, Texas

John Morse displayed immense political courage when he publicly supported five bills in favor of stricter gun measures. A former police chief, Morse has had firsthand experience with gun violence, and understands the magnitude of devastation that can ensue from the firing of a single bullet. This, in combination with the recent Aurora and Newtown shootings, motivated Morse to endorse these bills even though he knew it would be politically unpopular (“Colorado Voters”). This measure cost him not only his job, but his political career.

The former Colorado state senate president, Morse, was removed from office in a historic recall election, the first of its kind, on September 10th, 2013. Fourteen months prior, news of the Aurora movie theatre shootings devastated families of the victims, and broke the hearts of Americans nationwide. The shooter, James Eagan Holmes, had three guns, one being a semi-automatic rifle with the ability to hold up to one hundred rounds of ammunition (Lizza). He bought all of his weapons, ammunition, and tactical gear online, without submitting a background check (Healy). This is exactly the type of situation Morse would try to prevent.

In early 2013,Morse sat in his designated Senate President seat, having promised to propose stricter gun laws, despite the controversy that he knew would result from it. The new laws included limiting magazine capacity to fifteen per round, requiring universal background checks for all gun sales, having buyers, rather than taxpayers, pay for the background checks, requiring in-person interviews for obtaining a concealed weapon license, and giving state judges jurisdiction over guns owned by domestic-violence perpetrators (Morse). Even though the new laws were modest, passing them proved difficult.

Morse, a Democrat, was surprised to find that Republican legislative support for the bills would be so limited; a mere two Republican votes were recorded in favor of stricter gun laws for one bill in the entire drafting and passing process (Morse). While the Colorado legislature has a democratic majority, Republicans still hold much of the power in drafting and passing bills, as that body has only recently become democratically controlled. Morse also understood that he was facing an uphill battle in the court of public opinion. Fifty four percent of Colorado voters do not believe in stricter gun laws; this can be attributed to Colorado’s long history of firearms enthusiasm (Killough). Undeterred, Morse continued his support for the bills, despite meager Republican support, and the inevitability of public backlash, namely from the National Rifle Association (NRA).

The five bills passed that May (Morse), and the NRA, seeing an opportunity to promote their cause in a potential recall election, stepped into the Colorado gun debate. The association, along with local gun groups, coordinated the recall efforts against Morse, supporting the petition to force a recall election. This isn’t the first time the NRA has supported a recall election in response to efforts to tighten gun laws. In 1994, the NRA pushed for a recall election when California state senator David Roberti supported a legislation banning semi-automatic rifles. While this effort proved unsuccessful, the NRA sent a message to elected officials everywhere saying that any legislation supporting stricter gun laws would be met with forceful opposition (Tapper).

The recall election was called for during the summer of 2013. The NRA provided the recall efforts with over $350,000 in order to oust Morse. He lost by fewer than 350 votes (“Democrats Giron”). On September 10th, after having realized the recall election was lost, John Morse gave his concession speech. According to The Gazette, Morse said, "Robert F. Kennedy once said, it is the essence of responsibility to put the public good ahead of personal gain” (“Morse recalled”). Morse knew what he was up against, and that it might cost him his political career. It was, however, a small price to pay for doing the right thing. "It's costing me nothing -- nothing -- compared to what these families are paying," said Morse on the subject (Petersen).

When John Morse first announced his support for new gun-restriction legislation, he fully understood the implications. He lost his job fighting for what he believed would better protect the citizens of his state, and if given the opportunity, would do it again (Morse). According to the New York Times, “[Morse] showed more political courage in facing up to the gun mayhem afflicting the nation than the Congress did…” (“Hard Lessons” A30). Morse embodies the true meaning of public responsibility and political courage, and because of his self-sacrifice, Colorado is now a safer state.

Works Cited

"Colorado Voters Recall Two Gun Control Backers." Weekend Edition Saturday 14 Sept. 2013. Student Resources in Context. Web. 22 Dec. 2013.

"Democrats Giron and Morse ousted." Denver Post [Denver, CO] 11 Sept. 2013: 11A. Infotrac Newsstand. Web. 22 Dec. 2013.

"Hard Lessons of the Colorado Recall." Editorial. New York Times 12 Sept. 2013: A30. Print.

Healy, Jack. "Suspect Bought Large Stockpile of Rounds Online." New York Times 23 July 2012: A1(L). Infotrac Newsstand. Web. 12 Dec. 2013.

Killough, Ashley. "Colorado Recall a Proxy in National Gun Control Debate." CNN. Cable News Network, 10 Sept. 2013. Web. 08 Dec. 2013.

Lizza, Ryan. "The Middleman." The New Yorker 13 May 2013: 26. Student Resources in Context. Web. 10 Dec. 2013.

Morse, John. "Rampage. Regret. Repeat." Newsweek 20 Sept. 2013: 1. InfotracNewsstand. Web. 8 Dec. 2013.

"Morse recalled in historic." UWIRE Text 13 Sept. 2013: 1. Infotrac Newsstand. Web. 8 Dec. 2013.

Petersen, Barry. "Colo. Senator Who Pushed for Gun Control May Lose Job." CBSNews.com. Columbia Broadcasting Sysyem, 18 June 2013. Web. 8 Dec. 2013.

Tapper, Jake. "NRA pushes for recall of top legislator in Colorado." CNN. Cable News Network, 17 May 2013. Web. 28 Dec. 2013.