Don Wilson Inadvertently Makes Strong Argument for Banning Guns at State Capitol

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by: Colorado Pols

Rep. Don Wilson (R-Monument)

Colorado lawmakers are still debating a handful of gun violence prevention measures, including SB24-131, which seeks to ban firearms from certain “sensitive spaces.” Among those “sensitive spaces” is the Colorado State Capitol, where for years irresponsible lawmakers have dropped their weapons in public; left them in committee rooms; and had them stolen from their vehicles outside.

In an effort to do the bidding of extreme gun groups like Rocky Mountain Gun Owners (RMGO) and others, Republicans in the legislature have been making all sorts of absurd arguments against the proposed legislation. But before he could get his chance to opine on the bill subject, Rep. Don Wilson (R-Monument) inadvertently made another strong case IN FAVOR of restricting guns from the Capitol.

Wilson posted the following letter to the platform formerly known as Twitter today in which he admits that he accidentally left his own firearm in a public restroom on Tuesday evening:

“I take firearm safety very seriously,” says Wilson. He means this to be a serious statement, but it is a patently absurd thing to say after you just acknowledged leaving your gun in a public restroom. It is a small blessing that this took place after the State Capitol was closed to the public for the day, but it is nevertheless yet another reason why there is no good argument whatsoever for continuing to allow legislators to carry firearms at work.

Colorado House Democrats issued a statement this afternoon.

Said House Speaker Julie McCluskie:

The consequences of leaving a firearm unattended in a public space could be very serious, and the incident this week created a dangerous situation. This should not have happened and cannot happen again, and this is why our caucus is pursuing legislation to prohibit carrying firearms in the Capitol. [Pols emphasis]

Added Majority Leader Monica Duran:

As a responsible firearm owner, it’s frustrating and disappointing to continually see colleagues make mistakes with their guns. Everyone who carries a firearm must do so with the utmost care at all times, which is why it is so important to me that people receive proper training and observe it and that we strengthen the requirements for a concealed carry permit. I’ve expressed my deepest concerns to Rep. Wilson and Minority Leadership. It’s my expectation that he follows through with his commitment not to carry his firearm at the Capitol.

Colorado is very lucky that these multiple misplacements of firearms haven’t led to shootings inside the Capitol already.

If any lawmakers were still looking for a reason to vote “YES” on SB24-131, Rep. Wilson just made it easy for them.

14 thoughts on “Don Wilson Inadvertently Makes Strong Argument for Banning Guns at State Capitol”

2Jung2Die says:

April 11, 2024 at 1:54 pm

The question of "was it loaded?" can now be followed up with "was he loaded?" And what are the odds of accidental discharge at some point in the Capitol, given that it happens in other places, and there's nothing magical in the building to prevent an unattended weapon from being jostled or falling off a counter? I'm not sure any of these questions are rhetorical.

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Early Worm says:

April 11, 2024 at 3:59 pm

Sincere question: What would you do if you went into a public restroom, at the Capitol for example, and found an unattended handgun? No doubt there is law enforcement in the building, but if you go get them, you have to leave the weapon unattended. Do you take it to officer? I do not know enough about weapons to be able to easily determine if it is loaded or safe to handle.

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1. 2Jung2Die says:
  
  April 11, 2024 at 4:08 pm
  
  Sure, I'll add on. Let's say you carry the weapon toward where law enforcement might be, but they don't know you're doing that – do you become a target? You take the weapon out of the restroom and the gun owner sees you doing it – does he or she try to wrestle the gun away from you? You carry the weapon out of the restroom and the weapon accidentally discharges, toward g_d knows where, maybe causing injury or property damage? The Capitol is made of very solid material throughout much of the building, so I'd say multiple ricochets possible.
  
  I guess I'd recommend getting on the cell phone to contact law enforcement, rather than handling the gun.
  
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  1. ParkHill says:
    
    April 11, 2024 at 4:22 pm
    
    You left out the critical question: "Are you black?"
    
    What If the gun is fake and you are a black teenager?
    
    Right up there with the question of whether black people qualify for "make my day" laws.
    
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    1. 2Jung2Die says:
      
      April 11, 2024 at 4:33 pm
      
      Yep, visibly carrying a weapon in the Capitol while black could be real trouble for the black person, no matter if their intentions were good.
      
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2. JohnNorthofDenver says:
  
  April 11, 2024 at 6:45 pm
  
  I wouldn’t touch it I would pull the fire alarm and stand Infront of the bathroom and demand fire and police come to relieve me of the duty.
  
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Meiner49er says:

April 11, 2024 at 5:52 pm

You can't just go leaving phallic substitutes anywhere. Who knows where they might end up? Reminds me of a King Missile classic.

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notaskinnycook says:

April 11, 2024 at 11:22 pm

These hypothetical situations were why my wife took the basic pistol course. Guns terrified her. She wouldn’t have known what to do if she found one like this. now she does know how to handle one safely and incidentally discovered that she’s a crack shot.

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spaceman2021 says:

April 12, 2024 at 10:05 am

"I take firearm safely seriously, I'm just not good at it." Everyone is a responsible gun owner until their not. The U.S. is a completely warped nation that believes the bullshit about "responsible gun owners." I know several responsible gun owners who are six feet under because they weren't responsible enough.

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1. Lauren Boebert is a Worthless POS says:
  
  April 12, 2024 at 10:41 am
  
  Who can beat the one-eyed, 1/6 Seditionist Stuart Rhodes when it comes to being a self-professed responsible gun owner?
  
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  1. 2Jung2Die says:
    
    April 12, 2024 at 10:57 am
    
    I did not know until right now why he wore that eye patch. We're all rightfully worried about mass shootings, homicides, crimes of passion, etc., but there are maybe about 500 deaths per year in the US due to accidental discharge. It's not hypothetical. Rhodes was trained and it sounds like he just dropped the gun. It could happen here.
    
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  2. spaceman2021 says:
    
    April 12, 2024 at 10:59 am
    
    Perhaps the FBI agent who shot himself while teaching a gun safety course. But there's a whole flock of those type out there. And the issue isn't gun owners being responsible; it's what happens when that gun owner is going through a mental or emotional crisis, a substance use disorder, or other trouble that leads to irresponsibility?
    
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    1. 2Jung2Die says:
      
      April 12, 2024 at 11:16 am
      
      Partially why my first comment on this thread was "was it (the gun) loaded" (it was by the way), and "was he loaded?" (haven't heard anything about that yet). The Capitol experience beyond a doubt is stressful, combative, and there's certainly drinking on the job.
      
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      1. spaceman2021 says:
        
        April 12, 2024 at 11:21 am
        
        It's a deadly accident waiting to happen for sure. Had a friend who was going through a messy, emotional divorce and he called his best friend to have him come and take his gun from him while it was going on. I think of that often when I read about the frequency of shootings arising out of divorce/DV situations.
        
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