DENVER — Colorado State Representative Don Wilson (R-Monument) is apologizing after losing track of a firearm at the state Capitol Tuesday.
He's not the first one to do it — it's at least the third such incident in the last two years.
The Colorado State Patrol (CSP) said in a release sent Thursday that Wilson left a loaded 9mm Glock in a restroom at the Capitol on Tuesday night.
According to CSP, a review of video surveillance showed Wilson exiting the restroom just before 9 p.m. A janitor found it 20 minutes later and turned it in to CSP troopers. CSP said the gun was left unattended for 23 minutes.
Wilson didn't contact CSP to report leaving items in the bathroom until just after 10 p.m. CSP said they returned the firearm to him the same evening, and Wilson won't face any charges.
Wilson apologized in a statement posted to social media Thursday, saying he takes firearm safety "very seriously." He called the incident a "humbling experience."
Wilson isn't the first state lawmaker to lose track of a firearm on Capitol grounds.
Last year, Rep. Ron Weinberg (R-Loveland) couldn't recall if he had locked his car at the Capitol when two guns were taken from it.
Two years ago, Rep. Richard Holtorf (R-Akron) had his handgun fall out of his trousers as he ran to make a vote two years ago.
And in 2014, former Rep. Jared Wright (R-Fruita) made national headlines when he left a debate on concealed handgun permits, leaving his loaded weapon in a bag under a table.
Right now, Democrats want to ban legislators from carrying at the Capitol. Republicans have said even if that becomes the law, they won't follow it, because state legislators can't be arrested for misdemeanors during the legislative session.
In a statement separate from Wilson's, House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, said the incident created a dangerous situation and reiterated her support for a Democratic proposal to prohibit lawmakers from carrying on Capitol grounds. That proposal has already passed the Senate but still faces a vote in the House.
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