While asking for his party’s nomination for  candidate  for Sheriff at the Weld County GOP caucus on Saturday, Sheriff John Cooke received three standing ovations.  It’s understandable why. Crime rates and response times are down in the nearly 4000 square miles that make up one of Colorado’s largest counties.

During his speech Cooke held up a copy of the Denver Post and told the delegates that he serves them and not those in Denver or at the state capitol. He referenced a an editorial that took him to task for saying he will encourage his deputies to use their discretion when enforcing the new enhanced emissions area, which requires nearly all Weld County residents to pay $25 to get an emission test when getting license plate tags renewed.

Cooke told the Post:

I’ll tell them [deputies] to use their best judgment and not necessarily write that ticket….It’s already affecting the poorest people in this community, and I would rather have the person going to work rather than trying to run around and come up with $800 to fix his car.

Older vehicles are most likely to fail, thus hurting those who can’t afford late model cars.  The new law will cost Weld County residents millions of dollars at a time when the County can least afford it.  Weld County still is grappling with the collapse of New Frontier Bank and the second highest unemployment rate in Colorado.

Cooke and others including Weld County Commissioner Sean Conway do not support the new law and argue it will hurt the least among us and that Weld County’s air already is clean.  Working with the oil and gas industry, which spent some $30 million, Weld County is in compliance — within the allowable limits for ozone pollution.  Denver merely wants our clean air so it can comply with new EPA standards. From the perspective of Weld County residents, Denver needs our clean air and we have to pay for it.

Memo to the Post editorial board: if you drive even one mile-per-hour over the speed limit and law enforcement sees you and doesn’t ticket you, that officer is using his “best judgment.”

As much as the delegates applauded Cooke for all of the above, his staunch support for the Second Amendment brought down the house. He believes it is the right of every individual to protect himself, his family and his property.  The loudest and longest standing ovation came when he said, “I haven’t and won’t put the name of any concealed weapons permit holder into a statewide data base.  It’s none of the state’s business…”

As a conservative, I was proud to be on the stage with him along with State Senator Scott Renfroe, Greeley Police Chief Jerry Garner, Firestone Police Chief David Montgomery all of whom spoke on the Sheriff’s behalf.

As John’s wife, I understand why they cheer him. I love him too.

Delegates gave him what he asked for — their support and the nomination.

Independence Institute Research Director David Kopel first words on President Obama’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court. “It’s a dark day for our country when you have a nominee such as this.” Hear my entire interview with David on iVoices.org.  Thanks to KFKA for providing the audio.

I’ve given birth, broken bones, had major surgery and now I can add this to my list of physically challenging accomplishments: I completed Anthony Navarro’s tactical pistol class at Colorado Shooting Sports in Northern Colorado.  (Full disclosure: Anthony is one of my show sponsors)

The class is scheduled for 8 hours but went closer to 10 1/2 and was chicks only– eight including my 17-year-old daughter Ann.  Using 9 mm Glocks, we learned to shoot, reload and clear jammed weapons when moving, lying in the fetal position, lying down and with multiple targets.  We practiced to fire when attacked from behind, from the side or when bad guys are very close.  We loaded all of our magazine ourselves which led to swollen hands and blistered and sore thumbs.  Most of use got at least one finger caught in the chamber or some other part of the Glock.  At least half of us wound up with bloody hands, me included.

By the end we were hot, thirsty, exhausted and sore but incredibly proud of what we accomplished.  Anthony lectured most of the morning about the legalities of carrying a weapon and defending yourself.  After lunch we went to the shooting range.  I was a bit skeptical of having women with little or no gun experience wielding a loaded weapon right next to me and my daughter.  By the end of the day, I had complete confidence in myself and my fellow classmates.  Caught in a situation where any of them needed to defend themselves, I’d put money on any one of these ladies that she would come through while the bad guy would find himself six feet under.  I was so proud to be a part of this class with these women!

When Anthony teaches he isn’t fooling around and doesn’t plan on building a student’s self esteem with constant praise.   If you do something wrong, he tells you in no uncertain terms.  If you do something right, he tells you that as well.   Anthony is very clear that he has to go home at night with the knowledge that his students could be attacked and must draw on what they have learned.  Therefore, he doesn’t worry about hurting someone’s feelings or egos.  He is right.  I think I speak for most of the women when I say we all left incredibly proud of having completed such a challenging class.  Too bad the public education system doesn’t subscribe to the same philosophy.

All of us were there for different reasons — practice, need for self defense, sounded like fun — but whatever the reason, we all left with an incredible feeling of accomplishment and confidence in our abilities.  I’m looking forward to the tactical shot gun class and free follow up training .

Completing the class is just one of the requirements for getting a concealed weapons permit in Colorado.  I can now carry my firearm with confidence.  We are proof that girls just want to have guns!

Certainly a less violent one! In Weld County concealed weapons permits (CCWs) are up and crime rates are down…again.  Coincidence? Maybe but Weld County residents are exercising their second amendment rights in record numbers and we are a safer society.

According to our illustrious Sheriff John Cooke (also my husband), the Weld County Sheriff’s Office issued 291 CCWs in 2007.  The number jumped to 834 in 2008. 

This trend is not unique to Weld County.  With only 40 of 64 Colorado counties reporting, Colorado has seen a nearly 60 percent increase in CCWs applications for 2008.  For 2007 there were 9880 applications.  For 2008 the number is 15,679 (and that’s with 24 counties still not reporting).

Gun sales also are up in Colorado.  According to the Rocky Mountain News, “background checks to clear buyers exceeded 200,000 for the first time in history. More than a quarter occurred after the Nov. 4 election.”  Ironic that the election of the  anti-Second Amendment President Barack Obama has had the opposite effect of what gun control advocates desire!  It’s not just President Obama, according to Second Amendment expert David Kopel, Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Attorney General Eric Holder are no friends of the Second Amendment.

Whatever the reason, a big thank you to all residents who exercise their Second Amendment right.  You keep the rest of us safe. 

Also, thank you to my husband Weld County Sheriff John Cooke for encouraging citizens to take full advantage of their right to bear arms. Our society is a better place for it and the numbers prove it.

For information on how to get a concealed weapons permit check with your County Sheriff.  In Weld County you can print the application from the website.  For the best tactical training class (requirement for CCW permit) visit Colorado Shooting Sports.