from denver, rocky mountain pbs reports now on colorado governor john hickenlooper's plan to increase spending for mental health. >> at the colorado capital in denver tuesday, governor john hickenlooper announced an $18.5 million package of improvements to the state's mental health system including a boost for statewide crisis intervention. >> after the shootings in aurora, we said we wanted to allow the victims and their families, the wounded victims to process what had happened to them and the families to grieve with some level of peace, the loss of their family members and their closest friends. but we began looking at what things could we do. we're lucky to have many high-skilled providers and a strong infrastructure already in place. but we know that access to services at present is insufficient. and that oftentimes the delivery of those services is fragments. we're very well aware of it. resources for mental health services have declined over the last few years. really, for a longer period of time than that. certainly now more than ever we need to have tough discussions about ho

colorado's governor, john hickenlooper, he said, "we know too well what impact this kind of violence has on a community." he said that the first thing he wanted to do today was talk to his counterpart governor in connecticut, dan malloy. governor hickenlooper said, "i cannot put into words how impossible it seems to me that this can happen again so suddenly." virginia tech was the site of a mass shooting five years ago where 32 people were shot and killed on a college campus. another 17 people were shot and survived. the president of virginia tech said today, "we of the greater virginia tech community know from our experience of the unending sorrow and horror that has now descend on the newtown, connecticut community." tim kaine, he said today, "our commonwealth knows too well the pain of senseless gun violence." colin goddard, who survived the virginia tech massacre, he still has three bullets in him that were fired that day. he said today on msnbc, "i'm still trying to wrap my head around the mass shooting that happened in oregon earlier this week. when i saw this morning that this

joining any now is the governor of colorado, john hickenlooper. thank you for joining us today. i think that things are so fresh here in connecticut, but you have been dealing for several months with the aftermath of what happened in aurora. i wonder if you have -- if i am misinterpreting you or interpreting you correctly that maybe you have some slight evolution on what ought to be done in terms of laws involving guns or ammunitions. >> first, let me just say that, the heart of every person in colorado goes out to every person in connecticut. watching governor malloy navigate, and i think done a remarkable job, but we would -- you know, our hearts are breaking there for them. we know exactly how they feel. we've been collecting and even as they struggle to process this we've had that distance since the shooting in aurora. i've really tried to look at what are the things that could make a difference, and how should we begin this conversation? things like high capacity magazin magazines certainly have -- that comes up again and again and again. the expanding background checks to

colorado governor john hickenlooper not feeling so chill about his state's voter approved decriminalizationmarijuana. coloradans ad as you may recall voted last month to amend their state constitution to legalized use of small amounts of marijuana. and this week governor hickenlooper sort of reluctantly signed the paperwork that gets sba that into the state constitution. he also signed an executive order setting up a task force to figure out how to implement the new law, how, for example, the state will regulate the new pot market. the great state of colorado seen here enjoying their drug of choice on the steps of the state capitol building are of course not waiting around for the details to be ironed out. but the details are really pretty important. apart from the state of colorado figuring out how to regulate its newly constitutional right to smoke a bowl, there is the not so small matter of federal law. marijuana use may be well be enshrined in the colorado constitution as of this week. it's still not legal in the eyes of the federal government. they're about to find themselves in the mi

also today, the governor of colorado, democrat john hickenlooper made a big move. today he announced a $19 million expansion and redesign of his state's mental health system. and it includes a single state-wide statewide health line. and walk-in center across the state. and streamlined reporting of mental health commitments from gun sales. we learned of another multiple victim shooting. in longmont, colorado, a gunman killing three people in what appears to be a domestic violence situation before shooting and killing himself. it was also news on guns today from a very unexpected quarter of the world of sports. jim boeheim is the head basketball coach at syracuse university. last night jim boeheim logged his 900th career win as a coach. that's a really big milestone. not many people have reached that milestone in the world of sports. but in his moment of being recognized for that rare achievement, this is what jim boeheim talked about during his postgame press conference. watch. >> if we in this country as americans cannot get the people who represent us to do somet

colorado governor john hickenlooper signed an executive order making marijuana legal in the state.ears or older can now carry up to one ounce of marijuana legally without a prescription. in november, colorado voters approved an amendment to the state's constitution allowing the growing and recreational use of marijuana. colorado and washington officials both have asked the u-s department of justice for guidance on the laws that conflict with federal drug law. neither state will allow commercial sales for a year or more. >> today, president obama spoke to workers at a detroit factory. he is rallying public support for his proposal to raise rates on the top two percent of income earners. mister obama held back from directly criticizing republicans for opposing his tax plans.perhaps showing that fiscal cliff negotiations are showing progress. he says he will *not back down on his stance that the wealthiest americans should pay more in taxes. >> i'm not going to have a situation where the wealthiest among us including folks like me get to keep all our tax breaks and then we're asking s

>> stephanie: john hickenlooper said there might be come section with people who might go over the edgenstable and have access to assault weapons. >> caller: absolutely. but somebody said these are people with propensity to violence. i saw a little boy who was the nicest -- kindest -- he would cry if somebody picked on him, and he got a hand held game and his mom -- and she was like 5-foot, and she came in and told me one day that she stomped and broke the $100 machine, because he began hitting his sister every time he was playing these games. and these weren't even super violent games, it was because he was so intense in playing that he would get interrupted that she made noise. and whether stomping it was the right thing, she told me i have never seen behavior like that. >> stephanie: yes. good points, michelle. thanks for calling. okay. forty-eight minutes after the hour. you can explain later why you just threw your hands in the air and scauffed. war in syria, fraud on wall street, destruction of medicare and medicaid. there are real issues here. having been a governor, i know that

off food stamps for one week, joining other celebrities like mario batali, colorado governor john hickenlooperadelphia mayor michael nutter and representative robert brady. joining me now is sister simone campbell. thank you, sister, for joining us this morning. >> glad to be with you, carol. >> i wondered what you felt about mayor booker's exercise. what do you think? is he doing the right thing? >> i think anything that brings attention of ordinary folks to the struggle of people, low-income neem our society, this probably is a step forward. i think he will find it quite challenging. when we were in milwaukee during a tour, our bus tour, we discov discovered a man and his wife and two kids who used food stamps for breakfast and lunch during summertime when the kids aren't in school. and what billy told me was that having a 14-year-old child, a boy, who is growing and eats everything in sight, the only way they can do it, to try to keep him fed, is then come into the evening to st. benedict's dining room because billy's salary is only enough to keep a roof over their head and keep them from b

colorado governor john hickenlooper who endured its own massacre at a theater in aurora told cnn's "stateithin a state or in the country to have more people paying attention and trying to detect folks that are unstable, on the verge of real trouble, trying to catch them at a sooner level. >> california congresswoman, mary bono mack has concerns about the mental health system. we're also joined by her husband, florida congressman connie mack. both are leaving congress when this term is up. i want to talk about mental health. first, i want to talk about the president last night at this vigil. he did speak about measures that sounded like he was talking about gun control. let's take a listen to what he said. >> in the coming weeks i had use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens from law enforcement, to mental health professionals, to parents and educators, in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this. >> so what can be done to prevent these tragedies? >> i think the president is on the right path here. there has to be an awful lot that is done. to simply

colorado in the aftermath of the movie shooting massacre there, and the governor of that state, john hickenlooper service afterward said something that drew the applause of the crowd. i want to play that for you now. >> the moment they got news, they got the call that came through to from dispatch they were on the scene within 2 1/2 minutes. [applause] and literally within seconds they had apprehended the suspect. [applause] and i refuse to say his name. [applause] jon: obviously applause for the police and their heroism there but the biggest applause line when he refused to mention the name of the guy who shot up that theater. is that, jim, an approach that maybe all of us could or should take in the future? >> yeah. again, i tend to agree. i have sympathy for alan's point of view. he is not wrong in what he says. this is transparent society and you don't want to crimp the free press. i guess however, unless we want this to happen all the time for the rest of our lives we better start thinking of something and multifaceted approach would include mental health and all that goes along with that. n

. >> reporter: colorado governor john hickenlooper said two days before the connecticut shooting it isime to consider gun control legislation. but acknowledges it will be difficult. >> i took my son, 10-year-old son out shooting clay pigeons to two weeks ago. that part of it, that part of gun culture is so deeply engrained in colorado. in the united states. literally almost everywhere that to try and change it would be, you know, would be a very difficult thing. >> reporter: there is a precedent. great britain banned nearly all handguns after a shooting in 1996. out of mesa, arizona, elementary school, parents reflected. >> should be more gun control, yes. >> reporter: why do you think that? >> well, guns are -- guns are in the wrong hands are very dangerous. >> guns don't kill people. people kill people. >> definitely should be a gun control. shouldn't be no guns out there, you know. a lot of crazy people don't know how to handle guns. >> i don't think taking guns out of civilians who are good, contributing members of society are the answer. >> reporter: since the connecticut shooting

colorado governor john hickenlooper and gary herbert were the two governors who attended. does not believe humans -- she pointed without a bony finger she does not believe humans are to blame for chi mate change. everyone has an opinion and you know i probably don't believe it's man made made. i believe that weather elements are controlled by different things. >> by unicorns. >> stephanie: wow. noted scientist bone finger, isn't she? different things? what? >> bone finger. >> let's do a quick one here. eric in las vegas you're on "the stephanie miller show." hi eric. >> caller: hi, stephanie, how are you? >> stephanie: good. go ahead. >> caller: i've been listening to today's show. i could tecum brage with so many of your callers. they're on wacky pills today. >> stephanie: i don't have enough energy for umbrage but you go ahead. >> caller: there was a guy in the last hour that called in saying he has lots of poor friends that are only making $250,000 and they're going to have to be -- if the taxes go up. but the thing that always drives me insane is that if you're making

white is joining us from the great state of colorado where she's chief of staff to governor john hickenlooper. and so, their full bios are in the pam threats that are on your table. they're all very accomplished professionals in their careers. i'm going to ask roxane to start. we can come down this way. >> great. well, first, thank you for the report. i think that it provides a good framework for all of us as states to continue to look at the challenges facing us. we have been engaged in pension reform in colorado. our pension fund is about 69% solvent. we did major reform in the last administration, and we are now in court trying to defend that reform. our pension costs by 2020 will go to 22%, and so to give you a sense of how far behind we were as a state, if we lose in court and the battle is whether or not we as a state have a right to ratchet down the c.o.l.a.s for our state employees, then we could see a need to go to 25% of compensation by 2020. so it's fairly important that we are able toet through the litigation in terms of the ratchet down owhat we ar trying to do. we are also very

yesterday governor john hickenlooper signed this into legislation. he is not happy to do so.e got the first byte of him where he's saying he thinks this may be evidence of the country moving in the wrong direction but he still signed it. >> this transition to a more per messive society is happening all across the country. >> bill: more per missive society. so the question, igor, is -- and i tried to get an answer out of jay carney at the white house briefing and he would not answer it. what's the federal government do? >> what does it do. they issue -- >> bill: because it is against federal law. >> they issued a clarification last week when it became legal in washington state saying you guys be careful. this is still a federal issue. we know in poll after poll, the great majority of americans say let the states lead. let the states decide. voters are already on a different page than the federal government. and you know, the administration, i think, has been hesitant to address this issue. any time the president does one of the social media things like a twitter thing that's t

white joining us from the great state of colorado where she is the chief of staff to governor john hickenlooper. they are all professionals in their career. i'm going to ask roxanne to start and then we will come down this way. >> thank you for the report. it provides a good framework for all of us to continue to look at the challenges facing us. we have been engaged in pension reform and colorado. our pension is about 69% solvent. we did a major reform in the last administration and we are now in court trying to defend that reform. our pension costs by 2020 will go to 22%, and so to give you a sense of how far they were beyond the state if the battle was whether or not the state has a right to ratchet down the cola for our state employees that we could see the need to go to 25% compensation by 2020, so it's very important that we are able to give you the litigation in terms of the ratchet down of what we are trying to do. we are also very concerned at medicaid costs. medicaid costs are 20% of the budget growing at a rate of 8% a year. we are very engaged of putting everyone in medicaid into af