Forty years ago this week: In an early move, former Colorado Lt. Gov. Nancy Dick launched her bid for the U.S. Senate with an official announcement criticizing the incumbent she wants to oust, Republican Sen. Bill Armstrong. Dick criticized Armstrong for his positions on the nuclear arms race, the environment, taxes, abortion and a range of fiscal policy issues.
Gov. Dick Lamm joined Dick on the steps of the state capitol, dampening rampant speculation that he would make his own bid for the Senate seat. Lamm told assembled members of the media and gathered supporters that Armstrong’s conservatism was at odds and out of step with a Colorado that was “clearly a moderate, progressive state.”
Speculated as the most influential voice to prevent the governor from joining the race, Dottie Lamm stood by her husband, calling the U.S. Senate “the most exclusive men’s club in the country” and praising Dick’s candidacy as a mother and grandmother.
In Dick’s speech, which he would later also deliver at campaign stops in Pueblo and Grand Junction, he said, “Together we will form an unbeatable coalition in support of Colorado’s unique future as a safe, prosperous and progressive state built on the values of the Rocky Mountain West.”
“Most people in Colorado want to end the nuclear arms race,” Dick added, “and support a verifiable mutual freeze on the production and deployment of nuclear weapons, and so do I. But Bill Armstrong doesn’t.”
Lee Stillwell, Armstrong’s press secretary, said the senator would not comment on Dick’s remarks because he was still on a private trip to the Soviet Union.
“Personally, I think she’s a credible candidate,” Stillwell said. But, he added, Dick could very well be just an intentional distraction, a lurking horse, for Lamm, who would eventually make the run.
Novelist Leon Uris, who would serve as Dick’s campaign finance chairman, praised Dick’s political maturity, dedicated service, passion and humility.
“There is no politician in Colorado more familiar with the issues facing Colorado and the West than Nancy,” Uris said. “Whereas Armstrong has embraced the robber baron philosophy . . . and would destroy this state of its beauty and resources and waste it with mines from one end to the other.”
Thirty years ago: In the midst of what would later be called Denver’s “Summer of Violence,” the Denver City Council held a historic meeting where the body enacted two of the nation’s strictest gun control measures, aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of minors.
“We intend to be much tougher, more creative,” said Council member Debbie Ortega, “in designing sanctions to make kids less likely to carry or use guns.”
Under the gun storage ordinance, it would be illegal in Denver for a parent or other adult to give a firearm to a child or store a firearm where a child can easily access it. If a child managed to obtain the gun, the responsible adult would also be charged if they did not take the firearm with them or if they forgot to call the police to remove the firearm.
Attorney David Kopel, an outspoken opponent of the measures and gun rights advocate, called the measures “too harsh” and “overbroad.”
Red Frodine, another opponent, made a strong attack on the gun storage ordinance: “I assume you have fire extinguishers in your house, closed and empty too. . . . There are varying degrees of insanity, and this bill is at the top.”
Despite those criticisms and others from gun rights advocates, the two measures each passed by 12-1 votes, the only dissenting vote coming from Bill Scheitler, who was worried he might be re-elected in his increasingly Hispanic district regardless of how he voted.
“Gun control is a very serious issue in this city,” said Councilwoman Ramona Martinez. “In my district, there has been an 80% increase in use in recent years. I will be the first to admit that these bills will not solve the problem, but it is time to stop talking, send a message to children that we want the violence to stop.”
Rachael Wright is the author of the Captain Savva Mystery series, holds degrees in Political Science and History from Colorado Mesa University, and is a contributing writer to Colorado Politics and The Gazette.
