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Friday, March 29, 2013

Colorado gun-control bill leads gun-rights supporters to call for a hunter boycott of the state

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper's decision to sign three gun-control laws has gun supporters calling for a national boycott of the state. The bills "limit ammunition magazines, require universal background checks, and charge gun buyers for the cost of those checks," Tyler Kingkade noted for the Huffington Post.

Boycotters hope hunters spend their money elsewhere to prove a point to the governor. Colorado has a "$1.8 billion hunting industry," Valerie Richardson reports for The Washington Times. "In 2012, 489,327 residents and 86,493 non- residents procured hunting licenses.

The boycott is already taking its toll on Colorado outfitters as hunters from around the nation call in to cancel reservations," Richardson writes. "More than 60 percent of the state’s hunting revenue comes from non-residents, who pay far more for licenses than residents." Chris Jurney, vice president of Colorado Outfitters Association, told Richardson: “We’re getting a flood of emails now that the bills have been signed into law from people who say they like hunting in Colorado, but that these bills go against their beliefs and they’re not coming back.”

Randy Hampton, spokesman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, sees things differently. He said his "department has been contacted by hunters concerned about the new gun control measures but insisted the bills would have no impact on hunting," Richardson writes. “We do get people who say, ‘We’re not coming to Colorado because of these gun laws,’” Hampton said. “But there is nothing in these bills that changes their ability to hunt and fish in Colorado. What this is is a protest against the state legislature.” (Read more)

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