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

If passed, the odds for just about any kind of future gambling expansion could be drastically reduced.

Suthers, who opposed the legalization of marijuana during his time as Colorado’s attorney general, is on a new crusade: to end amending the state Constitution. To accomplish that goal, he’ll ironically first need certainly to amend what the law states.

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

The campaign originates from the ‘Raise the Bar Safeguard Our Constitution’ coalition. Based on the combined group, the Colorado Constitution has been amended over 150 times, while the United States Constitution is changed just 27 times.

‘Our state calls for 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 effortlessly changed into the 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 just five states which have legal charitable, pari-mutuel, commercial, tribal, and racetrack gambling, as well as a state lottery. Tribes are permitted to work casinos on their land that is sovereign localities are allowed to approve casino gambling though only three have inked so.

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

Suthers desires to keep it that way.

Officially called Amendment 71, enhance the Bar wishes to mandate that petitions to change the state Constitution receive signatures from at the very least two percent of voters in all 35 Senate districts. The public that is general then require to vote in favor of the amendment by at the very least 55 percent.

Current law to move a petition forward requires five percent of the vote that is previous secretary of state, but those signatures is collected anywhere in Colorado.

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

If the Suthers coalition wins, amendments would apparently be impossible. Gaining two per cent support in every corner of hawaii, from the heavily conservative remote areas to the heavily liberal towns and cities, might function as the perfect recipe for inaction.

Weed Yay, Casinos Nay

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

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

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

‘East Coast casinos tried to create a gambling monopoly in our Constitution,’ Suthers concludes in the commercial. ‘It’s time to make sure constitutional amendments have broad public support.’

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

The gaming amendment failed overwhelmingly as more than 70 percent of voters went from the movement.