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Voice of the Rocky Mountain Empire MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2015 partial sunshine E 41° F 26° »16A B © the denver post B $2 price may vary outside metro denver 6 INSIDE Comics » 8-9BB | Lottery » 2A | Movies » 11BB | Obituaries » 15A | Puzzles » 8BB, 10BB | Tech Know » 12BB DENVER & THE WEST SCHOOL DISTRICT DEFENDS DRILLING Adams 12 has approved mineral leases underneath a middle school and a high school. »2A Obituary. Denver artist Jonathan “J.P.” Parker dies at age 87. »4A NATION & WORLD ANOTHER ATTACK ON OBAMACARE Republican opponents of the law may be able to chip away at it rather than repeal it. »13A SECOND-HALF COLLAPSE With “things going wrong,” Broncos fail to score after intermission and fall 34-27 to Steelers. » 1B Source: Colorado Bureau of Investigation * Through November The Denver Post 2011 Six people were killed and U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was severely injured by a gunman at a grocery in Tucson. Many more were wounded in the attack. 2012 In Colorado, 12 people died in the Aurora theater shooting. Also, 20 first-graders and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. 2013 The Colorado legislature passed a handful of gun control laws that included capping magazine-round limits at 15. 2014 A gunman who also ran victims down with a car killed six and wounded seven in Isla Vista, Calif. 2015 On Black Friday, a gunman opened fire at a Planned Parenthood facility in Colorado Springs, killing three people and wounding 12, nine by gunfire. Colorado gun background checks Background checks for gun purchases in Colorado continue at a high pace, with nearly record-setting requests on Black Friday this year of 4,115, just four below last year’s figure. Over the past five years, several mass shootings have taken place in the state and nationwide, which is one factor for the steady pace, experts say. 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 3,031 4,028 3,804 4,119 4,115* 251,307 343,302 396,955 314,976 297,657* In thousands In thousands Black Friday background checks Full-year background checks 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 ELECTION 2016 Secrets, silence in “dark money” Even as states try to stop it, unlimited, anonymous spending is expected to rise. By Geoff Mulvihill The Associated Press cherry hill, n.j. » Just before Rhode Island voters chose their governor last year, a group in Ohio transferred $730,000 from secret donors to another Ohio or- ganization that spent the money on television ads aimed at defeat- ing Gina Raimondo, the Democrat who eventually won a tight race. More than a year later, it’s still not clear where the money came from or why two Ohio-based groups would want to influence an election 600 miles away. The same groups also funneled anony- mously donated cash for major political ad campaigns in Arkan- sas and Illinois. Rhode Island’s disclosure laws are tougher than most, but this was a classic case of “dark money” keeping its secrets despite re- quirements that donors who pay for political ads reveal themselves to the public. With the presidency at stake in 2016 — as well as a dozen governor races, 34 U.S. Senate races, all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Repre- sentatives, and scores of mayoral races, state legislative seats and bal- lot initiatives — this kind of unlim- ited anonymous spending is ex- pected to grow, and handling it has become the biggest campaign fi- nance challenge for states nation- MONEY » 6A Guns in Colorado State fully loaded Firearm sales keep rapid pace in 2015 amid heated debates Bighorn Firearms owner Ryan Resch, left, helps Dave Clute with his first gun purchase, a .22-caliber Smith & Wesson semi-auto- matic pistol. More than 4,000 people attempted to purchase a gun on Black Friday this year in Colorado. Brent Lewis, The Denver Post By Carlos Illescas The Denver Post Amid a renewed national debate on guns, sales of the weapons continued at a rapid pace in Colorado in 2015, even almost match- ing a record high on the very day a shooter killed three and injured nine with gunfire at a Planned Parenthood facility in Colorado Springs. The number of background checks for guns through November of this year reached 297,657, with only about 1 percent of those be- ing denied, according to the latest numbers from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Last year, CBI conducted 314,976 back- ground checks on gun purchasers. “It’s a crazy world. People want to protect themselves,” said Ryan Resch, owner of Big- horn Firearms in southeast Denver. But advocates for gun control see a differ- ent kind of insanity in the high number of gun sales, driven by pro-gun conservatives they accuse of spreading fear. “Of course it’s concerning,” said Tom Sulli- van, who lost his son, Alex, in the Aurora the- ater shooting in 2012. “I’m concerned about the people buying into the fear that the apocalypse is coming, that the government is coming to get you. No one’s coming to get you.” No day is more popular for gun sales than Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. On that day this year, a day marked by the vio- lence in Colorado Springs, there were 4,115 background checks performed, compared with 4,119 in 2014, the CBI reported. FIREARMS » 12A Cleaning Completed By 12/31/15 Promo Code: DEC2 asthma & allergy friendly™ Certification applies to Carpet Cleaning service only. Minimum charges apply. Not valid in combination with other coupons or offers. Valid at participating locations only. Certain restrictions may apply. Call for details. 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