Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers (R) is reaching out statewide to voters urging them to guide A november referendum that would ensure it is drastically harder to amend the state’s constitution.

If passed, the odds for any type of future gambling expansion would be drastically reduced.

Suthers, who opposed the legalization of marijuana during their time as Colorado’s attorney general, is on a crusade that is new to cease amending the state Constitution. To achieve that goal, he’ll ironically first need certainly to amend regulations.

Appearing in a new commercial campaign, Suthers opines, ‘The Founding Fathers made it hard to amend the United States Constitution, simply because they knew it set fourth fundamental rights that should be protected. The Colorado Constitution is a far different story.’

The campaign arises from the ‘Raise the Bar Protect Our Constitution’ coalition. According to the group, the Colorado Constitution has been amended over 150 times, while the US Constitution was changed just 27 times.

‘Our state requires the initiative that is same to amend our Constitution as our state laws,’ the organization says on its website. ‘ This framework has made Colorado’s ballot and Constitution among the most easily changed in the national country.’

Former Colorado Springs Mayor Mary Lou Makepeace is also lending her support and appearing in a television spot.

Suthers Sulking

Colorado is certainly one of only five states that have legal charitable, pari-mutuel, commercial, tribal, and racetrack gambling, in addition to a continuing state lottery. Tribes are permitted to operate casinos on their land that is sovereign localities are permitted to approve casino gambling though only three have inked so.

The majority are small-scale gambling venues situated together in mountain towns like Black Hawk.

Suthers wants to keep it by doing this.

Officially known as Amendment 71, improve the Bar wishes to mandate that petitions to improve the state Constitution get signatures from at the least two percent of voters in all 35 Senate districts. The public that is general then need to vote in favor of the amendment by at the least 55 percent.

Current law to go a petition forward calls for five percent of the previous vote for secretary of state, but those signatures are collected anywhere in Colorado.

Proponents for lots more Constitution that is stringent amendment argue groups presently get into Denver and Boulder to obtain the necessary John Hancocks, and those two cities does not necessarily represent Coloradans as an entire.

If the Suthers coalition wins, amendments would apparently become impossible. Gaining two per cent support in every corner of their state, from the greatly conservative remote regions to your heavily liberal metropolitan areas, might function as the perfect recipe for inaction.

Weed Yay, Casinos Nay

In 2014, voters in Colorado passed Amendment 64, the ‘personal use and regulation of marijuana,’ by a margin of 55.3 in opt to 44.7 percent opposed. But throughout that same election voters rejected a motion to expand gambling.

The owners of the Arapahoe Park horse track and 11 off-track wagering parlors had desired permission from the public that is general allow its facilities to include slots and table machines, with 34 per cent of total revenue going to support education.

The Arapahoe Park and off-track places are owned with a team of investors based in Rhode Island.

‘East Coast casinos attempted to create a gambling monopoly in our Constitution,’ Suthers concludes available. ‘It’s time for you to make sure constitutional amendments have actually broad public support.’

Voters were at the top of marijuana, but low on gambling.

The video gaming amendment failed overwhelmingly as a lot more than 70 percent of voters went from the motion.