Three Republicans sparring for the right to challenge Gov. John Hickenlooper in the November election were united on several issues in a debate Thursday, including their opposition to new gun restrictions.
The GOP gubernatorial candidates differed slightly on same-sex marriage and abortion, but former U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez, Secretary of State Scott Gessler and former state Sen. Mike Kopp made clear in their pitches at the studios of 9News that they believed any of them would be better than the Democratic incumbent.
A fourth candidate running in the June 24 GOP primary, former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, chose not to participate.
Beauprez, Gessler and Kopp all said they would repeal gun restrictions passed last year, including an expansion of background checks for firearms sales and limits on the size of ammunition magazines.
Governors don’t have the authority to repeal laws on their own, but they have a bully pulpit.
Each candidate said he would execute death-row inmate Nathan Dunlap, who was convicted of murder in the deaths of four people at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in Aurora in 1996. Hickenlooper granted Dunlap an indefinite stay last year and has been criticized heavily by Republican opponents over the decision.
They all said they oppose abortion, but Gessler said there should be exemptions when the life of a mother is at risk, and for rape and incest.
