Second chances do happen, even at the state Capitol.

Last month, House Minority Leader Hugh McKean, R-Loveland, accidentally voted in favor of House Bill 1298, a bill that bars firearm sales to anyone with certain violent misdemeanor convictions for five years. It also closes a loophole around background checks.

At the time, McKean said he had been looking at information on the bill on his computer, and hit the wrong button. He immediately asked for a revote, known as reconsideration. 

House rules allow for someone who votes on the prevailing side to ask for a revote. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. 

But House Majority Leader Daneya Esgar of Pueblo asked that the House deny him that request, which requires a two-thirds vote. Only nine Democrats voted in favor of allowing him that revote. 

That was followed in the days ahead by attacks on McKean both from within his caucus and outside the Capitol. 

Rocky Mountain Gun Owners sent out a fundraising email, calling McKean anti-gun, despite the fact that McKean had spoken against the bill the previous day. 

Within his caucus, McKean was attacked by some on the far right, including his predecessor, Rep. Patrick Neville of Castle Rock. According to the Colorado Times Recorder, Neville, interviewed on Peter Boyles’ show on KNUS, criticized McKean for his accidental vote, stating. “You know, I’m not going to do exactly like he did to me … and issue a press release and say he doesn’t fit the values of the party. But it did happen. … One of the most controversial bills we’ve dealt with all year, of course. … I spent a lot of time on it. And then yesterday, our minority leader accidentally voted for the bill.”

Tuesday, RMGO went on the attack again, distributing an email survey that asked for a vote of “no confidence” in McKean and calling him a RINO (Republican in Name Only). The email didn’t say that McKean’s vote on HB 1298 was in error and claimed House Republicans planned to strip him of his leadership position, possibly as soon as Tuesday. The email also lied about McKean’s position on a safe storage bill that Democrats sponsored earlier in the session. McKean voted against it. 

After the original vote, McKean said Democrats who voted against reconsideration apologized. McKean also said he heard from Senate Democrats who were also unhappy with Esgar’s decision, and said they would be sure he got his second chance.

House Bill 1298 got a few mostly technical amendments added to it in the Senate, so on Monday, it was the House’s turn to consider those amendments and revote.

And this time, McKean voted against the bill, along with the rest of the members of his caucus.

The board of the Colorado State Shooting Association issued a statement of support for McKean Tuesday.

In May, McKean accidentally voted to support the bill, the CSSA statement said. Intentions matter, and “Leader McKean has been a consistent and tireless champion of the right of the people to keep and bear arms, even in the face of the knee-jerk, emotionally charged bills this legislature has sought to ram through to appease hysterical reactionaries. Leader McKean’s ‘yes’ vote, while regrettable, was clearly inadvertent and did not change the outcome of the vote. And although the majority leadership endeavored to prevent him from correcting the record, last night he did so when the bill came up again in the House and he voted against it.”

CSSA called the attacks on McKean from RMGO “badly misguided,” adding that they stand by McKean. “These short-signed and disingenuous efforts are not productive and throwing a pro-2A legislator to wolves for a clerical error only hurts the cause…You can be sure the anti-gun politicians revel in the political gift that this infighting has handed them,” the CSSA said.