Thirty-Five Years Ago This Week: Announcing his intentions months in advance, at the start of the legislative session, the longest serving speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives, Carl “Bev” Bledsoe, R-Hugo, said that he would not seek re-election in November.

Bledsoe had held the speaker position for 10 years but told The Colorado Statesman that he and his wife had jointly decided this would be his last term. Bledsoe also told reporters that he had purposefully made the announcement early in the legislative session so potential candidates for his House District 64 seat could have time to campaign effectively.

“I look around House District 64 and I see several people who could ably represent the interests of the small town and the agricultural people who make up the 64th district,” Bledsoe said. “I look around my caucus and I see several representatives who could do an outstanding job as speaker. And then I look further and see fields I have not tried.”

When Bledsoe’s decision was made public, speculation and rumors flew rampant through the state capitol. If Republicans held their majority in the November 1991 election, Reps. Chuck Berry, R-Colorado Springs, Paul Schauer, R-Littleton, Scott McInnis, R-Glenwood Springs, and Carol Taylor-Little, R-Arvada, were among the names floated for speaker.

In other news, Sen. Pat Pascoe, D-Denver, spoke with The Statesman about Senate Bill 90-93, the Firearms Safety Act, which had been written to prevent the acquisition of firearms by individuals who’d been convicted of a felony, those certified for treatment for mental illness or those under a restraining order based on testimony that they pose a threat to the life or health of another person.

The length of time it would take to purchase a firearm could take anywhere from seven to 21 days as those who were looking to purchase would have to present a letter of authorization from their local police chief or sheriff. Still the purchaser would have to wait an additional seven days from the letter’s date of issue. In addition, every purchaser would be required to complete an approved firearms safety course.

“The public is very supportive of this type of legislation and 89% of all adults nationwide favor a two-week waiting period to allow time to check a buyer’s background before that person can buy a gun,” Pascoe said.

According to the National Rifle Association, 21 states had handgun application and waiting period laws on their books. In one year alone in Illinois, 2,470 prohibited persons had been denied firearms purchases, and in New Jersey, over 10,000 had been denied since their laws had gone into effect.

“Colorado can’t afford not to keep guns out of the hands of felons, certified mentally ill, and persons with restraining orders,” Pascoe said, “because they are a danger to others. This is no more than common sense. The debate should not be over whether we do it, but how.”

Fifteen Years Ago: Standing in the frigid cold on the west steps of the state capitol building, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper announced his intent to run for Colorado governor, saying with a shy smile that he hoped there wouldn’t be a primary.

Former Speaker of the House Rep. Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver, was then running for U.S. Senate and rumors abounded that he might switch to the governor’s race. Hickenlooper told the assembled press that he had spoken with Romanoff, but said he would not disclose further details.

Hickenlooper told the crowd that some might see this as the worst time to run for governor as the country was in its worst economic downturn since the depression, but he said, “sometimes fate has a way of delivering opportunity right when the hill is at its steepest.”

Rachael Wright is the author of several novels including The Twins of Strathnaver, with degrees in Political Science and History from Colorado Mesa University, and is a contributing writer to Colorado Politics and The Colorado Springs Gazette.