Debate gets heated at Colorado Capitol over resolution condemning pardons of Jan. 6 defendants
State lawmakers spent five and a half hours Friday debating a resolution condemning President Donald Trump's pardon of those involved in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Democrats stood in the front of the State House as the resolution was read while Republicans sat with their backs to them.
The measure is similar to one that passed the State Senate. It states that "pardons erode the rule of law and signal an acceptance of political violence so long as the violence was committed by those who support President Trump."
Democratic state Rep. Michael Carter is one of the sponsors: "This wasn't just an attack on a building, it was an attack on the very foundation of our democracy. On the right to vote; A right that Black Americans fought and died for."
Republican state Rep. Rose Pugliese said lawmakers should be focusing on more important issues facing Coloradans: "Nothing we did today is going make the price of eggs go down, help our seniors stay on their fixed incomes and live in Colorado, help the people who have asked us to come here and actually make their lives better."
A recent poll by the Washington Post found the majority of Americans oppose Trump's pardons, especially for those who were charged with violent crimes.
In that poll, 83% of those surveyed said violent criminal offenders from Jan. 6 should not receive clemency while 14% said they should.
The resolution passed on a party-line vote.
