There was a great deal of breaking news last night, including President Barack Obama's national address on Syria and Anthony Weiner's dismal finish in the New York mayoral Democratic primary.
But a recall vote in Colorado has Florida lawmakers paying attention today.
Democratic State Senate President John Morse lost his seat by a close 51-49 percent split. Another Democrat, Sen. Angela Giron, was also recalled with 56 percent voting to oust her. The recall was largely seen as a referendum on gun control after the Democratic-controlled State Assembly and Gov. John Hickenlooper, also a Democrat, passed several new gun laws. Morse and Giron, who were big advocates of the new measures, will both be replaced by Republicans.
The National Rifle Association poured a great deal of money into the recall effort. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg financed the campaign to keep Giron and Morse in office. But this vote was mostly about turnout, and the anti-gun control crowd had the upper hand. Read more about the results here.
This matters here in Florida as the Dream Defenders and other progressive organizations push for changes to the Stand Your Ground self defense laws. Republicans and the NRA like the law as it is, and polls have shown a majority of voters don't want changes either.
Any Democrats who consider voting for changes to the law or even supporting new gun control measures will likely have the Colorado recall in the back of their minds.
Here is some Twitter reaction from this morning:
Sen. John Legg, R-Trinity, @SenatorJohnLegg: 2nd amend. support alive & well! Thank u Colorado voters!
Florida tea party leader Henry Kelley, @HenryKelley: Votes matter, and voters matter. Just ask the voters in Colorado. I will not vote to infringe on our 2nd
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