This is Dan Caplis and welcome to today's online podcast edition of The Dan Caplis Show. Please be sure to give us a five star rating if you'd be so kind, and to subscribe, download and listen to the show every single day on your favorite podcast platform.
Yes, beautiful day to fight. This has to be one of the nicest days in the.
History of the great state of Colorado. Absolutely picture perfect.
So hope you're enjoying it.
I hope you're able to enjoy the great weekend ahead, and Lord knows, we have plenty to talk about, always grateful for that. We expect to be joined by David Copple, truly iconic gun expert, firearms expert, firearms law expert, and we look forward to David coppel with us on the show to talk about Senate Bill three. As you probably don't know because there just seems to be no public
interest or appetite for this. But Senator Michael Bennett now officially in the race for governor in Colorado and you know, racking up all these different endorsements, etc. I want to talk with you about that. I know you probably don't want to talk about it, and we work for you here, so It may be a short conversation, but I at least have to try, because it does look at this point as if he's likely to be the Democrat nominee, and so which means that he would have a good
chance to become the next governor. So we should at least have the conversation. Now, count me among those who think that the right GOP nominee definitely has a path to victory here, and we'll continue to talk about that, and if you disagree, we'll take your call or your text first. But I think there is a path here, not an easy one. But it wouldn't be any fun if it was easy, right, It's not meant to be easy. What among the greatest accomplishments in human history has been easy?
Right?
No?
Three or three someone three A two five five text d an five seven seven three nine. Lots more on the agenda this afternoon as well, And you know, we need to spend at least a little bit of time on this guilty plea in the Justice Kevanaugh case. Remember when you had this killer who traveled to Justice Kavanaugh's home and he was going to kill Justice Kevanaugh. Go right into his home that night, killed Justice Kavanaugh with his family there in order to prevent the Dobbs decision
from being formalized. And so that deserves a little bit more attention, right particularly when you've had Chuck Schumer, leader of the Democratic Party, out there openly by name calling for violence against Kavanaugh. I still don't understand why Schumer has not been criminally charged over that. So we'll touch on that, We'll update that as well. Jeff cost Schools,
Jeff Co Schools getting more and more attention. Boy Lindsay Datko and that whole group out there, you know, just do a phenomenal job, some of the best we've ever seen when it comes to grassroots activism. A real privilege now to go to the VIP line and welcome David Koppel to the Dan Kapli Show.
If you're new to the area.
David is truly a Colorado icon, known for his work in so many different ways, but the Independence Institute, where he's research director and junk Scholar at the Cato Institute and University of Yoming now Senior Fellow, College of Law Firearms Research Center. David, Welcome back to the Dan Kapli Show.
It's great to be back with one of the best long running radio hosts in the Rocky Mountains.
Well, thank you for saying that, my friend, I tend to look at myself as a survivor but grateful to be here. And Wow, the very first name that popped into my mind when we heard that police had signed Senate Bill three, obviously is you, because I've never known anybody with a more commanding grasp of all things related to firearms, starting with firearms law and jurisprudence. So, David, if you could just start by giving folks your take on Senate Bill three.
Well, it started off as a bill to ban the future sale and transfer of all summer atomadic hand guns and all semi automatic rifles and shotguns that take make that use detachable magazines, which is the predominant type of modern rifle, and it exempts twenty two caliber the time calder for plank into ten cans. It got then modified into a very onerous licensing law which will require it requires three different steps where you have to pay a fee.
There is no cap on the fee, and at every step none of the government actors involved have any deadlines by which they're supposed to say, process and application and approve you or deny you. It will make the cost of purchasing these guns. Well, the Polish administration today said that one step of there's one particular step, which is
some training by the Colorado Department of Wildlife. And they say that's and plus we're having to register and pay fees to the Department of Wildlife so you can put on a registry as a gun owner. And they said they're going to try to keep the cost of that to two hundred dollars, but that's just part of the thing. So it's going to be fees probably equal to the cost of a medium quality, normal handgun find you buy from Taurus or Smith and Western or Ruger Glock, all that kind of thing.
Oh my lord, So they're trying to create this financial barrier. I thought they cared about poor people, but wow.
Well they care about so much about They care so much about.
Poor people that they believe they.
Can make better decisions for poor people than poor people can themselves. And gun ownership being something that is seen as intrinsically evil by lead sponsor Tom Sullivan and quite a lot of Democrats in the current legislature, they're helping poor people by preventing them from being able to acquire modern firearms.
Wow, David Kopler, guests from the Independence Institute. Now I think you're the best person in the country other than maybe at this point, Justice Roberts answer the question as to whether this is going to be upheld. Is this going to withstand constitutional challenge?
Well, it's an extreme bill in some ways because despite the lies the sponsors told, they wrote it. So that includes every model of modern semi automatic handgun. Well, I mean, and by modern, I mean everything invented since eighteen eighty five, when when the first one was invented, with the exception of one particular model made by Barretta. Other than that, it's all. It's every modern semi automatic handgun, not revolvers,
which are maybe about a one sixth of new handguns. So, on the one hand, you can say it's unconstitutional under the standard the Supreme Court set in the case of New York State Rifle and Pistol Association versus Bruin, where the Court said, we interpreted the Second Amendment based on its original meaning and text, but that that original meaning can be shown not only by things before seventeen ninety one, when the Second Amental was adopted, but also things close
to the ratification period, and the further you get away from the ratification period, the less valuable any historical evidence is. And set the Court in Bruin and after nineteen hundred, it's completely pointless. You're not going to get any information about original meaning from a law that was passed in
nineteen forty eight. So there's nothing remotely comparable to this anywhere in American jurisprudence before nineteen hundred, with the option of laws in some of the slave states that said free people of color can only have a firearm if they get a special license other than that. So, on the one hand, I just gave you the argument against the law being constitutional. The argument on the other side
is even acknowledging what I just said. The Supreme Court in footnote nine of the Bruin case said, we don't mean to cast any doubt on laws. Shall issue laws for concealed handgun permits and shall issue laws like the ones one Colorado adopted in two thousand and one, is that you have to go through a certain process to But it's a pretty fair process to get a permit to carry a concealed handgun. You know, you would have
to fill out a form. In some states you'd have to including Colorado, you'd have to be fingerprinted, you'd have to provide proof of safety training, and then you pay a fee. And all that in Colorado has done in a generally reasonable way. And the sheriffs who issue the permits have to make a decision yes or no within a certain period of time. And so they would be defenders of this law of Colorado. Attarney General Phil Wiser will.
Say, oh, this is just a licensing law, like.
The court approved in Bruin in footnote nine. The answer back to that is, well, they approved to that of licensing for carrying a handgun in a public place. That's different from just having something in your own home. And secondly, what the court approved of was shall issue laws, which is, you know, you apply for a permit, a field carry permit, and the issuing authority has to make a decision within ninety or one hundred and twenty days six day and
it varies from state to state. And this one has no deadlines on when permits are supposed to be issued. And likewise, the court said, you can't have exorbited fees, and we have no fee caps at all in this legislation. And then the answer back to that is, well, you know, Maryland has this pretty rigorous system to buy a handgun in the first place, with a five day waiting period and a background check and all this stuff, and then they layered a handgun qualification license on top of that.
A federal district court said that's unconstitutional. You know, nothing like it in the American history that matters. But the Fourth Circuit upheld that, and so the Attorney General Wiser will rely heavily on the Fourth Circuit opinion for saying, you can have pretty harsh licensing systems that you know, may take a month or more to go through just to have a handgun in your home.
Wow, our special guests.
But even there, the Maryland thing is distinguishable because it does have mandatory time periods in it, for example, and caps on the fees. And then the response to that is the journey General Wiser would say, well, you know, look, if we start charging exorbitant fees, we agree that's un constitutional Underheller, but we haven't even set the fees yet, so how can you say we're exorbited? And likewise, you know, if it took six months to get a permit that
would be unreasonable. But we haven't even started issuing permits lone and going to effect until August twenty twenty six. So you can't really sue us to say we're doing a bad job until we actually start doing a bad job.
Okay, And so that was going to be my next question. Given how they've set this up, does that mean that it cannot be constitutionally challenged until they've answered these other questions?
Maybe? Or that gets into the real complies the plaintiffs lawyers in this case are going to have to deal with it. Yeah, Sometimes you can have reinforcement challenges to laws before their effective date, but that's that's often more at the least, it's more difficult. Well, David, And at the least you if you if you say there's actually problems and how the law is being administered, you have to wait till you can show how the law is actually being administered.
Usually, Well, David, what I would love to do, and I know you're the busiest guy in town, but I would love to get you in here sometime for an hour and just let everybody pick your brain on all things firearms and firearms law, because truly there's no better authority, but very grateful for your time today.
That sounds fun and I'd be happy to do it, you know, maybe in May or whatever, if it's your schedule.
That sounds great. Thank you, my friend. Have a great weekend. Okay, thanks, I take care.
That is truly just a one of the icons in Colorado. David koppel If you're new to the area, everything that he's written, because I've never been and met anybody who understands it better. You know, when you talk about somebody who understands every piece of it, including the legal piece and all of the Supreme Court precedent, etc. He's a remarkable, remarkable resource. So check them out at the Independence Institute. David Kopple, you're on the Dankapla.
Show and now back to the dan Kaplas Show podcast.
The Center from Texas shut this government down in twenty thirteen. My stay was flooded, it was underwater. People were killed, people's houses were destroyed, their small businesses were ruined forever. And because of the Senator from Texas, this government was shut.
Down for politics.
Then he's served to a second place finish.
In the Iowa Caucuses. But we're of no help.
To the first responders, to the teachers, to the students whose schools.
Were closed.
With the federal government there was shut down because of the junior senator from Texas. Now it's his business, not my business, why he supports the president who wants to erect a medieval barrier on the border of Texas.
That's perfect, that, that is perfect. Yeah, yeah, wow.
Michael Bennett now in the governor's race in Colorado. This is going to be fascinating to watch because Phil Wiser is in the primary also, but for how long?
Right? For how long?
And as someone who wants the GEOP nominee to win, whoever she or.
He may be, what do you want more?
Do you want Wiser to stay in the race or get out of the race, because you know, if Wiser stays in the race, the more beat up Bennett's going to get because they both have to be I mean, they're, you know, accomplished in their own individual lives, right, but when it comes to serving the public, they both have to be among the least accomplished people ever for the
jobs that they've held. And so do you want them just kind of beating each other up until they face the GOP nominee, or do you want it appears to be a plan right now to run Wiser out of the race because Joe No Goose was there today endorsing Bennett. Jason Crow as well, but that's irrelevant. I mean, Joe No Goose was his big competition. I kind of like Ryan's theory that there's you know, I'm not going to allege that they're breaking the law because you can't sell or trade a Senate seat, But.
Is there some hope out there.
On the part of no Goose backing Bennett. Now, if Bennett wins, he gets appointed to Bennett's Senate seat.
I'm sure there probably is right that hope.
But anyway, or do you want to see Bennett be able to run Wiser out of the race and then just go unopposed until he has to face the Republican Because again, you got two things with Michael Bennett, right, just a stunning, striking, almost unimaginable lack of accomplishment for anybody serving that.
Long as a US Senator.
But then on top of that, and this is kind of the Polish syndrome, the Hickenlooper syndrome, the every elected to major office Democrats syndrome in Colorado.
They live in this bubble where.
That they never have to be asked hard questions, certainly not ask hard follow up questions. People lose their access to them as reporters if they're willing to ask them hard questions.
So if they ever had the ability, the skill.
The muscle to be able to handle tough questions, they've lost it by the time they have to run a tough race. And I'm not sure Michael Bennett even ever had that skill. But here he is today with Rob Dawson and Rob Dawson from the newsroom. He's a consummate journalist. He's no flamethrower. And Michael Bennett seems irritated.
By your credit say they don't stand up.
Finally, the state.
And some people may not really know you if you.
Feel like I think that's just absolute nonsense. There isn't anybody who has spent more time in Colorado that I have as a statewide elected official.
What is that? That this just madness.
There's nobody in Colorado who spent more time here as a.
Statewide elected official. See the governor.
Maybe you know, But that's the point is Michael Bennett is thoroughly unaccomplished for all those years as a US senator.
But he also has has never had to get in a fight.
He's he's never had to defend his positions, He's never had to get into a true debate. And this is Rob Dawson, that the nicest, most down the middle journalist you're ever going to find. Ask him a simple question about criticism of him and what happens with Bennett.
Not just the tone, which does not bode well for him, but he.
Starts saying stuff that that's an obvious falsehood on a simple question like that, This is going to be fun, and I think it's going to be fun for whoever the GOP nominee is.
You're on the Dan Capsla Show.
You're listening to the Dan Kaplis Show podcast.
This to me is.
One of the most shocking pieces of poll data I truly truthfully have seen this year, maybe in any prior year.
Yes, it's really.
Because I want you to take a little cares more about the needs for people like you. You mentioned to Kate Paul, we got a tie even after this tariff war had already started, split between Democrats and Republicans on how people feel of which party here's more for needs.
Of people like you?
And why is that so surprising? Because I want you to take a look at prior years. Democrats always lead on this question. Back in twenty seventeen, before the twenty eighteen meate terms, thirteen point lead, two thousand and five, a twenty three point lead for Democrats, nineteen ninety four, which was a big Republican year, a nineteen point lead for Democrats, and now.
All of a sudden, a tie.
All of a sudden, the Democrats, who are the party of the people no more, no more, we get a tie on this question, on a question that has traditionally overwhelmingly been a Democratic advantage people for party, which party cares more for the needs of people like you. It's truly something I would not have expected to see, especially.
After this tarafor had begun.
See this is seismic to me. This is the single most important poll result you'll hear in five years. And this is a question you just don't hear ask that often. But it's at the heart of everything, right, because what motivates people's vote. People tend to vote their self interest, which means you're going to vote for Okay, who cares more about me. But then you look get that sea change right from the Democrats always win on this and it goes to what I've been saying forever as a
former Democrat, what I've been saying forever. For the GOP to win and for the wind to matter, the GOP has to be the party of the working people. And that is what Donald Trump has done. And part of accomplishing that has been to expose the left for who they really are. Right Because again, as a former Democrat, I was a Democrat for years. Most of my extended family outside of Colorado are Democrats, and so I know
of what I speak here. You know, people vote habitually for these Democrats over the years, and I know we get a lot of callers who just want to put all Democrat voters into this same old, looney tuned far left bucket. And if you want to live in that state of denial, you're welcome to. But you're going to miss an opportunity here, because the opportunity is to capture a lot of Democrats as Republican voter. And that is
because you got so many good people out there. They are patriotic, they love God, they love America, and they get the abortions of killing of an innocent life. They've just been voting habitually Democrat for years and they've got this terrible stereotype of Republicans. And so what's happened now is between the appeal of Donald Trump and exposing the left as the lunatics they are.
You have this big chunk of people.
Who are starting to break away from the Democratic Party and see they really don't care about them. It is hard for the Democratic Party to convince anybody they care about them when they say, oh, yeah, men should be.
In your daughter's shower. It's really hard to pull that off.
And so this is a moment, This is a tipping point moment. But here's the danger, and the danger lurks, and.
It is a big, big beast.
Here's the danger that historically important and great victory. Then Trump just won. The operative word is Trump. Those were Trump voters who put him over the top, not Republican voters. And this is not transferable automatically. Maybe Republican candidates can earn the support of that margin of Trump voters that made the difference, but it's not automatically going to transfer Those were Trump voters, not Republican voters.
So the GOP has a lot of work.
To do in a hurry to earn the support of those Trump voters who made the difference. But the opportunity is clearly there, and it shows in the polls. And it goes back to my big pitch to you, which was, hey, yeah, it is so important that President Trump win and save America again and his voters save America again.
And that happened, and thank God for it.
But what's almost equally important is that the Left be exposed for who they are, that enough people see that it is not your father's Democratic Party, is not the Democratic.
Party of five years ago.
This is a far left, lunatic bunch in charge.
And if they had their way, your daughter's shower.
Would be full of men, and if they had your way, your daughter's sports would be full of men, and if they had their way, you know lots of other crazy, insane stuff that half the Democrats would never want, let alone the rest of the country. So that has been happening largely thanks to President Trump. But President Trump has
also inspired other Democrats. Right, It's like President Trump has been some sort of transplant surgeon who has caused a lot of Republicans who used to be kind of, you know, Wimbledon rule Republicans and this and that to grow body parts. It's almost magical. And so you have more Republicans now who are willing to do two things. They're willing to street fight. They're willing to street fight. Now, you always got to tell the truth and you always got to
obey the law. But they're willing to street fight, and they're willing to speak those hard truths that so many were afraid to speak before. And so he has inspired this different type of Republican and it's been a beautiful thing to see. And that's why the bench is so deep right now. And so we are at this beautiful moment in American history where there is this tremendous opportunity.
But this single poll today, and if you just joined us, the most important poll result you'll hear in five years on a question you rarely hear polled, which is who cares more about you?
Which party?
Democrats always win on this, Republicans are tied now and tied in the midst of the tariff the tariff stuff, right, because Americans get this, certainly, working Americans do the whole point of the tariffs is to working people in America and to bring manufacturing back to America. And people get that, and it's so funny. You see these political experts. You know, oh, you know, Americans won't endure any pain. Those so called experts,
they don't understand working people. The toughest people you will find in America as a group are working people. They know pain. Their life is full of pain. It's full of physical.
Pain on the job. Often, it's full of the.
Pain of worrying about how they're going to pay the bills that they need to pay. It's full of a lot of pain. But it's also full of a lot of morality and virtue and values, because you know that the whole life isn't oh how do I protect my millions or how do I manage my tens of millions. Life is generally speaking, so much more centered around values and virtue and moral and all that kind of stuff. And it doesn't mean you don't have a whole lot of very moral rich people.
You do.
But I'm just talking about how the elites fundamentally misunderstand working people, which is why they got their tails kicked in the last election and why this pole just turned out the way it did. So whoever these Colorado candidates are, I sure hope they understand that, and I sure hope they do that, and I sure hope with the guy like Michael Bennett. And if you didn't hear the sound we played of him being interviewed by Rob Dawson from
our newsroom, I'll play that in the next segment. Because there is such an opportunity to beat him, and I'm assuming he will be the dem nominee, but such an opportunity to beat him. He's got a glass jaw, he can't take a punch, he's not a fighter, he has no experience fighting, he has almost no accomplishments, and for the amount of time he's been in the US Senate, it's stunning, it's almost physically impossible how few accomplishments he has.
So he is a guy who can be beaten. And then what's interesting to me, I mean, you talk about in this environment right now where so many people say, wait a second, that we've got to control our border, we've got to be throwing out of the country people here illegally. Some of the stuff Michael Bennett has son and said and done on that in the past he can run from that, but he can't hide.
I mean, the media won't call him on it.
But a good GOP candidate with the right kind of team and everything else, you can let the people of Colorado know. This guy's the last guy in the world you want as governor of Colorado at a time you want to make sure that people here illegally or committing crimes get thrown out. There is a lot of opportunity here. Three or three someone three two five five the number techs d an five seven seven three nine.
And when we come back, we will play that sound.
Rob Dawson from the newsroom, just the most straight up reporter.
Down the middle you'll ever find. You hear him on the show.
I try to go to him into some kind of controversial comment or something, he'll never go there. Yes, there's a simple question of Michael Bennett, and Bennett goes off on him, start saying goofy stuff that's clearly false and provably false. And then Rob tells me and Bennett said, if he gets elected governor, he's going to appoint his successor to the US Senate, not Polis.
And you know he's going to stay in the Senate during the race. How do you think that's going to go over with the people of Colorado. You're on the Dan Capla Show.
And now back to the Dan Kaplas Show podcast.
AOC seems to be doing, you know, from tweeting people to buystock and then later announcing his development on taxes.
If people are pissed about.
Insider trading here at the house, look at what's happening at the White House right now.
Senator Kennedy at the line right, AOC is the reason you have directions on a shampoo bottle. I mean, my goodness, So it's insider trading. Now to tell everyone, to tell the entire world it's a great time to buy stocks, that's insider trading. Hey, think about this, Think about the beauty of this. Trump knows when he says that right that the only people who are going to do it
are the people who trust him. So he makes the information available to everybody, and the haters can miss out and lose money, and the people who trust him will
make money. I can guarantee you Ryan, the second I saw that, like the millisecond, I saw that because we've been talking about on the show, right, We've been talking about on the show since the second Trump announced Liberation Day, the tariffs, everything else, and my belief and as I always say, if I tell you anything about investing, do the opposite.
But it's gratefully it's worked out well for us.
So second I saw that it was okay, got to put some more in.
Now.
The funny thing is, if I remember the timing, Ryan, I think it probably happened short time after the market's opened that day because I had already lined up some additional investments that morning just believing that the market was going to come back. I didn't necessarily expect it to be that quick. I expected for a long time. We're going to see ups and downs now for a while
as all of this plays out. But because I believe in Trump's plan, because I believe in Trump, and it's largely in Trump's control and he has a history of creating leverage and using it well. That my belief is it sometime in the next six months to a year, it's all going to come back.
It's going to come back stronger than ever.
It's going to come back like a coiled spring, and it's going to go even higher.
So I'm not anything I'm doing and my.
Little investment world is not based on day trading or oh hey, I'm going to make a lot of money in the next forty eight hours or forty eight days. It's based on that longer but not long view. So anyway, anyway, just love that aoc winding. My guess is that she did not make any investment there, right, So that's the beauty of it. From Trump's standpoint, Well, people who hate him, we're going to use the information he provided everybody to not buy and the people who trust him to buy.
By no definition of the term insider trading.
Does what she just describe apply.
No, But remember these are the people who were trying to have him die in jail for crimes he didn't commit, right, I mean that's but hey, it sounds like she knows how to fly.
Socialist Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez responded.
Flying first class to a Bernie Sanders rally last night.
Now, listen, come on, no, right, if I think one of the great joys and pleasures of life is to fly first class.
And every now and then, I'll do it.
Since the time I used to load bags, you know, for then Continental airlines and back then.
You know, your flight. Pri it was a beautiful thing because they.
Put you right up there in first class ahead of some big shot and it was a beautiful thing. But you don't use taxpayer money. No, no, but but really that's right, And come on now, I don't care. I mean, I don't care how much money I had. If I'm going off to lead some uh torch and pitchfork rally against the man and I'm a public figure, I'm probably dragging my behind back to the economy seats right next to the bathroom, you know what I mean, which I flew in plenty of times over the years.
Those are rough seats.
I mean, you know, when you're and with young kids especially, we would go back and we would get those seats so you're right next to the bathroom. That those can be tough flights.
Since what do you need that?
So the worst time I had was when I got out here and I was one K on United and I actually had VPS SVPs and my bosses go back into economy when I was first class.
Ooh, who that's rough. That is rough. It was very rough.
Maybe the single best move I ever made other than proposing to my wife, though under some tough circumstances for her right. But if you don't know the story, we were on live TV and it made it a little awkward for her to say no. So fortunately she said yes, and thirty one years later, thirty years going on thirty one, we're still there.
But here's the deal.
I'm flying out to my first, big, big case when I was a younger lawyer, and I'm flying out with my co counsul's pairalegal, who's this amazingly talented, accomplished pairalegal and my co counsel. God rest his soul now has passed away. But we're flying to Alaska to look for a star witness together and same thing, Kelly. I somehow ended up with the first class seat, and this is
going to be a long, tough flight. I ended up with the first class seat, and here's my co counsul's pair of legal having to go to the back of the plane. I said, no way, no way, you're taking this first class seat. And then what did I find out? What did I find out later? His pair of legal was his sister, Oh, which I had never been told.
So well, it was very awkward and I only did it once and then I just basically disregarded every other upgrade after that, even though I was one K for like a year. I was like, Okay, I'll just let it go. But by the way, who could not hold want you to run for governor?
Well, that is so kind to them, That is so kind of them. Believe me, it is really, really, really tempting. Man who wouldn't want who wouldn't want to just tee it up with Michael Bennett, Who wouldn't want to get in the ring with Michael Bennett?
Right?
Three or three seOne three eight two five five text d A N five seven seven three nine You're on the Dan Kapla Show.