No Gitmo Prisoners In Colorado Cry Many Republican Lawmakers

Republican lawmakers in the Colorado legislature don't want the detainees that are going to be released from Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba to be housed at Supermax which is a maximum-security federal penitentiary located in Fremont County.

Republican lawmakers and three Democrats signed petitions protesting a possible transfer of prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Supermax federal penitentiary in Fremont County 90 miles south of Denver. It's estimated up to 243 detainees could be transferred to Supermax within 12 to 18 months. Governor Bill Ritter says that he hasn't asked President Obama to send the 243 detainees to Colorado but he wouldn't be opposed to it. The Rocky Mountain News quoted Governor Ritter's views on the subject: ''It is a facility designed for just that kind of prisoner. We already have really extreme terrorists who are housed there. And I don't think it's appropriate for somebody like me, first of all, who has supported the president's decision to close Guantanamo Bay to say: 'Not in my backyard.' '' Supermax's previous detainees have included Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and the terrorists involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The legislators signing the petitions believe that the Guantanamo prisoners are better suited for a Department of Defense detention facility because their presence poses a threat to national security. Republican Senator Ken Kester of Las Animas is circulating the petition along with fellow Yuma Representative Cory Gardner. The three Democrats who signed the petition are Colorado Senators Jim Isgar of Hesperus; Paula Sandoval of Denver and Abel Tapia of Pueblo. However, Democratic House Speaker Terrance Carroll of Denver calls the petition effort ''political grand-standing.'' He doesn't believe that the Guantanamo prisoners pose any more of a threat to the local communities than the prisoners already housed at Supermax. Rep. Buffie McFadyen (D-Pueblo West) says that Supermax has been understaffed for years by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. The Rocky Mountain News quoted her on the subject: ''Florence should be an option evaluated after we exhaust military options.''