Staying Strong

I went to dinner with some friends last night. It was a perfectly delicious dinner in their home with great company and I did the unthinkable - I fell asleep. Yup, I dozed right off and my husband, Steve, had to wake me up to take me home. How embarrassing! Tackling this gun violence prevention legislation has been exhausting and I guess I just didn't know how much it has taken a toll. I'm glad it happened at the end of the night and not when I was eating my salad. I'm sorry my blog has suffered and if you're from Pueblo, you'll know that this blog title is particularly meaningful around an issue that has sometimes been lacking in civil discourse.

Most folks whom I've seen or visited with this weekend have wanted to know about the 14 hour gun legislation marathon session in the Senate on Friday.

ASSET activists

It was a long day but, a productive one. Despite the fact that these particular pieces of legislation have taken up a big chunk of the last few weeks, I've been able to work on other bills, as well. At the same time that we started to debate the first bill on Friday, the House was taking a final vote on ASSET. I was sure to get away for a Senatorial Five (five minute break) to get over to hear Crisanta Duran's remarks before the historic 40-21 vote in favor of ASSET was taken. I took another few minutes to join the many advocates who were gathered to celebrate. Most moving were the youth who will be directly impacted by ASSET - they made a circle and each took a turn to say how the legislation would impact their life. I was sorry that I couldn't be more present. I was needed on the Senate floor and even when I was with these amazingly articulate youth, my mind was mostly focused on the work of the long day ahead. I am committed to joining them for a big ol' celebration when ASSET is signed into law later this month!  

I was also able to (literally) run in and out of the Governor's office to be present when he signed into law a Critical Care Bill I sponsored. Most interesting about my quick trip through his office is that I was able to meet his dog, Sky. I'll be back in that office, for sure, asking to visit and pet Sky, whenever I get the chance. The Governor told me Sky is a rescue dog that was trained as part of a Colorado Corrections program. Inmates have dogs that live with them and they train the dogs. Inmates say that carrying for the dogs is life-changing for some. It's really a wonderful program that I visited this past summer. I'll have to remember to put a few treats for Sky in my bag.

10:00pm on Friday night - licorice sustained me!

The rest of my day on Friday was all about the gun legislation. As you probably know, 5 of the 7 measures received enough votes to pass on to the final, recorded vote that will be taken on Monday. One of the measures that was pulled by the sponsor, the Concealed Carry on College Campus bill, was one I probably would have voted against. I heard testimony last Monday and what I came to realize is that campus safety is more complicated than that legislation addressed. I do plan to vote in favor of the 5 bills that will be presented for final vote on Monday.
I am aware that a some people from here in Pueblo and many, many people throughout the country have threatened consequences for my votes. The gun industry claims to have a candidate who has agreed to take their money to run a primary against me in 2014. Over 10,000 emails have poured in from across the country (less than 3% are from Pueblo) and thousands of calls (about 5% from Pueblo). Ads are in newspapers and now on television, my Facebook page has never seen so much action, someone got a hold of my personal cell phone number and I can't answer my phone for a while. But, for every person who yells in my face or tries to spit on my husband, there are 10 others who come up to hug me - even a few people who are opposed to all or just some of the legislation. Pueblo people ARE the best! I have really appreciated your prayers, the letters, your words of encouragement, the communications you send through other people. When I talked to Steve on Friday, he had a list of folks who had called or told him of their support for me. And, the messages have almost all been the same, person after person saying, "Stay strong!" and "Tell Angela to stay strong." None of this has been easy but, with your help, I am, most definitely, STAYING STRONG!