Republican lawmaker leaves loaded gun in Colorado capitol bathroom
Representative Don Wilson forgot his handgun in a bathroom.
It was discovered and state police secured it.
A quick search told me next to nothing about Mr Wilson. I have no reason to imagine that he's less attentive to firearms than any other.
That's the point....
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A Colorado state legislator publicly apologized after leaving a loaded gun in the state's capitol building.
Colorado state representative Don Wilson, a Republican, confirmed that he left a loaded 9mm Glock handgun in a capitol bathroom on Tuesday evening, according to a statement on X.
"I want to be clear that I take full and complete accountability for the incident. I made a mistake and am very sorry," Wilson said.
Wilson added that he takes firearm safety "very seriously", calling the latest incident a "humbling experience".
The gun had been left unattended for 23 minutes before being discovered by the capitol's janitorial staff, who contacted the Colorado state patrol (CSP) about the weapon, NBC News reported.
Journalist removed from Colorado Republican event for 'unfair' reportingRead more
Nearly an hour later, Wilson contacted the CSP "to report leaving items in the restroom", the CSP said in a statement. The firearm was then returned to him.
State troopers confirmed that the building was closed to the public before Wilson misplaced his gun.
Wilson did not violate any state rules and no criminal charges are being weighed, state patrol officers said in a statement, the Colorado Sun reported.
Colorado Democrats have argued that the latest mishap proves that firearms should be banned from the state's capitol.
"The consequences of leaving a firearm unattended in a public space could be very serious, and the incident this week created a dangerous situation," said state representative Julie McCluskie, the Democratic House speaker, in a statement, Colorado Public Radio News reported.
The Colorado legislature is also considering a "sensitive spaces" bill that would ban firearms in the capitol building for everyone, excluding law enforcement officers, Colorado Public Radio News reported.
Wilson has also reportedly pledged to no longer bring guns into the capitol building, the House majority leader, Monica Duran, said to Colorado Public Radio News.
Tuesday's accident is not the first time that a Colorado lawmaker has mishandled a gun in the state's capitol.
In 2022, Republican state representative Richard Holtorf, who is running for Congress, accidentally dropped his gun while rushing to vote in the House's chamber, Colorado Public Radio News reported.
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A good guy with a gun.
Rest of this thread removed for no value and taunting.
Is your post meant to be pertinent to the article?
It certainly doesn't apply to my post, as I was using neither irony nor hypocrisy.
Yes.
Really?....
Yes, really.
Folks who mishandle weapons like this should have their privileges limited or revoked. Banning weapons from all people because of a case like this, specifically those who handle weapons responsibly, is a typical Democrat overreaction and a big reason they will never be able to come up with real “common sense” gun laws.
Tough to do when you have no common sense
Like you I have no problem with responsible gun ownership however this is an example of irresponsible ownship. At the very least he should have to take an in depth gun safety course
How would you do that?
I’d need more info to make that call.
If you say they should have their privileges (I thought it was "rights") revoked, you must have some idea of how to go about it.
No?
I didn’t stutter, I need more information to make such a decision. Do you know all the details involved? Can you share all those particulars with me? Do you really believe this article was so encompassing?
Yes? No?
The guy brought a loaded gun to the statehouse. For some reason he took it out in a bathroom. He left it.
What more do you need? I cannot imagine a scenario where this is acceptable.
So what are you saying? Are you prepared to permanently remove his gun rights for this one incident.
YOU said "Folks who mishandle weapons like this should have their privileges limited or revoked."
So I assumed you had some sort of idea of how to do that.
I agree. If you're so out of touch that you don't remember taking your weapon off to drop a deuce, then you probably shouldn't be carrying one.
Yes and then I explained I would need to have the entire picture to make such a judgement. Not sure why you seem confused about that.
YOU do appear to be willing to make such judgements without having all the info. Are you willing to revoke his privileges based on what you do know?
People's gun rights are lost all the time...
I hear ya but I’m less of a zero tolerance guy in cases like this. People are human, they screw up. If this is a one off, I can get past it.
I’ll fix the for you:
Criminals and crooks have no such limitations.
No, that is truthfully opposite the truth!
Criminals lose rights. Law abiders don't!
Should they drop Hunter's gun charges?
Hell no!!!
Only law abiding citizens follow such determinations. Crooks are like Honeybadgers. They don’t care nor do they give a shit about laws.
I can tell you what law Hunter broke. Can you tell me what law the congressman broke?
There’s your answer.
Negligence With A Firearm and Disregard For Human Life to stsrt with...
Do drug addicts have gun rights?
What of people with depression?
What about early onset dementia?
What of taking pain, anxiety, depression or anti-psychotic medications?
What's fair for me is also fair for thee!
Law abiding citizens rights are protected.
Criminals lose rights including gun rights.
Yet hyperbolic gun nuts say the opposite!
So all those criminals that committed gun crimes were law abiding citizens till they weren't?...
So you agree that this is an inexcusable error.
A younger me would agree, but I'm not so sure nowadays. I've never taken mine off in a public space and not been acutely aware of its location.
Absolutely, and they tend to screw up less when there are penalties.
Yeah, this was a Pol in his Capitol. Could just as easily have been a worker stopping at a fast food restaurant where the next inhabitant of the stall is the local homeless meth head.
What can you imagine that would render this acceptable? If you can imagine something, then maybe you need more info.
So I ask again... what can you imagine?
(If you can't imagine anything either, then more info is pointless.)
So you're ok with screw-ups carrying guns...
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When you are done deflecting I’m still waiting for an answer.
So I ask again, are you going to answer my question?
Nobody got hurt and embarrassment is a good punishment sense no laws were broken
So you're ok with abandoning loaded guns in public spaces?
I might have kept it if I found it
Would have both taught him a lesson and hit him where it counts, in the pocketbook
And you would be breaking the law in doing so if you didn’t turn it in. By all means, snap it up if you find it but then turn it over to authorities.
By all means
why does a thumper need a gun in a secure building?
Crippling Insecurities?
I agree. The lefts fear of law abiding gun ownership is very crippling for them.
I have 2 close by me at all times, just in case the fascists and thumpers get froggy and decide to jump...
Interesting.
We rarely see you here defending law abiding citizens gun ownership rights.
Interesting …..
I don't know how one goes round for a half hour not knowing where your handgun is. He's lucky no one took it and committed a crime with it. There should be repercussions for the negligence. Something like having to recert to carry, or something.
A recert would do nothing to solve what happened. That is, irresponsible gun handling. The fix is, warning if that something like this happens again, his rights to carry in congressional buildings would be limited or revoked.
If he can’t handle his weapon responsibly on government property. He shouldn’t be allowed to carry on government property.
that's how I got my last handgun, a cop glock. my LE nephew ran the numbers to see if it was stolen, it wasn't, and then came to the conclusion that it's previous owner reporting it stolen would be worse than forgetting about his $$$ mistake of leaving it in the port-a-potty.