Every year we see an article about legislators running the same bills year after year, just to see them killed in committee. There is usually a section in the article regarding “the cost” of running these bills, obviously trying to get the reader to question why we do this in the Legislature. Let me be very blunt: we run these bills because it is the right thing to do, because citizens elected us to fight these fights and because in the end we all believe we will persevere.

Some of the perennial bills as of late on the Republican side have fought the roll-back of protections that all free women and men should have. When this country was founded, these protections were in place to prevent the overreach of government, and provide an essential checks and balances between the citizens and their government. Unfortunately, government has been winning this battle at the expense of citizens, and it’s time we take back the ground We The People have lost.

If legislators aren’t willing to fight for the citizens that elected them, then why should they continue to serve? We should be persistent, because in my experience if you continue to fight you may eventually win. A very recent case-in-point: felony DUI. Although you may not agree with the concept, this bill had been a lame duck, killed year after year. That is until last year, under the stewardship of Rep. Lori Saine of Firestone. Her bill passed both chambers of the Legislature and was signed into law by the governor. If legislators had given up on this perennial loser, this issue would have been a mere footnote in history. Instead, it is now law in Colorado, and helping to keep many habitual drunk drivers off the roads.

There is no doubt that Republicans will continue to fight for important issues to citizens like religious liberty, the Second Amendment and your ability to protect yourself in your place of business. With more citizens answering the call, and joining the fight, we will persevere together – it is our duty and it’s the right thing to do.