Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper said Monday that he supports Attorney General John Suthers' decision to defend the state's constitutional ban on gay marriage. He also addressed whether he thinks the state should raise its mininum wage and talked about how flood recovery efforts are going.
Gov. Hickenlooper's comments came during an interview with Colorado Public Radio. The following are highlights of the discussion, with more details coming online later this week.
- As the one-year anniversary of the murder of former Colorado prisons chief approaches, the governor shared some remembrances of Tom Clements. He also addressed an increase in the state's prison population that may have resulted from Clements' murder.
Unlike some other attorneys general nationwide, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers says he'll defend the state’s ban on same-sex marriage because, he says, he has to defend all of Colorado's laws, even if he doesn't agree with them. Gov. Hickenlooper said he supports that decision, even though he recently came out in favor of legalizing gay marriage.
- Six months ago flooding innundated the Front Range. The governor has been back and forth to Washington, D.C., to try to get more financial support from the federal government. He says a lot of recovery work remains.
- Recreational marijuana sales have been legal since January. But the governor isn't convinced that will lead to an increase in stoned driving. He also addresses concerns that revenue from marijuana sales taxes will fall below projections.
President Barack Obama has made a higher minimum wage a priority for the final years of his administration, but it's unlikely he’ll get that policy through a divided U.S. Congress. The minimum wage in Colorado is currently 25 cents above the federal rate of $7.75. Gov. Hickenlooper said he is not seeking a hike in the minimum wage.
