In yet another instance of going overboard, a man who lives in Craig, CO wants to have a law in that city that would require every head of household (with some exceptions) to own a rifle. Not just any rifle, but one that can accommodate high-capacity magazines. You know, like an AR-15 Bushmaster. Because we don’t have enough of those out there.

Craig Rummel approached the city council with the proposal because of economic reasons, he says:

“Coal, the power plant and hunting pretty well sums up what we offer here in Craig, America. For too long, the state Legislature has been hammering us, and they’re destroying our economy. Our voices are not being heard, but if we pass an ordinance, it will go viral, and then they’ll be forced to listen to us.”





Ah… well there’s the brunt of it right there: he wants publicity. Well, Craig (man and town) you’ve got it. But I don’t think it’s going to be quite the way you imagined it would be.

Craig, CO is located northwest of Denver on Highway 40, between Steamboat Springs and Dinosaur National Monument. The town boasts 10 hotels and has a population of just under 10,000. The area has great fishing and outdoor sports – including hunting – and calls itself “an outdoorsman paradise.” It also has 2 museums for the less rugged crowd. So, I can’t understand why Mr. Rummel thinks that coal and hunting are all the town has to offer. Maybe he just has his head somewhere else…

While the city council agrees with Mr. Rummel on principle most of them had enough civic-mindedness (or sense of self-preservation) to not want to use the power of their office just to make a point. As an aside, I’d like to have them talk to State Sen. John Goedde of Idaho, among others. One council member suggested that, instead of an ordinance, they set forth a resolution. Not good enough, Rummel pouted.

“We have tried the traditional routes, and we have good representation at the state in Sen. (Randy) Baumgardner and Rep. (Bob) Rankin, but the Western Slope doesn’t have the votes in Denver. We need to think outside of the box and let the rest of the country know we are not in lockstep with Denver.” (source)

Craig, the rest of the country doesn’t care. Honestly. We are so busy with our own problems that your town might just as well be on the moon. No offense meant by that, it’s nothing personal – I’m sure it’s a lovely place (looking at the satellite view, it is a beautiful area). But, in case you haven’t noticed, people are suffering all over this country. Heck, you have it better than some: you have 20,000 head of venison roasts there for the taking while some Americans go hungry. And at least some of you have the wherewithal to snag a few.

So you can say that this is about the town’s economy – though I can’t for the life of me figure out how rifles figure into coal and power – but it’s not. You are being disingenuous at the least, dishonest at the worst. You should have listened to Councilman Don Jones when he said:

“I don’t think passing an ordinance requiring all residents to own an AK-47 is the type of attention Craig wants.”

You have that attention now. But, if I were you, I’d save the town from ridicule and go along with the whole resolution idea and be done with it. Because, not only are you wasting the time and taxes of Craig, CO with this nonsense, you are failing at making the point you so desperately wanted to make. Best to let it drop and roll out the carpet for summer visitors who want to see wild mustangs and hike the west slope. I think you’ll find that being positive and focusing on the good stuff you can offer will be a lot better than using guns to try to make political statements.

T. Steelman is a life-long Liberal. She has been writing online about politics since 2007. She lives in Western Washington with her husband, daughter, 2 cats and a small herd of alpacas. How can anybody be enlightened? Truth is, after all, so poorly lit…