[7] Morse ran for the Colorado Senate in 2006, and won a decisive victory in a competitive district, defeating incumbent Republican legislator Ed Jones.
[citation needed] Advertisements aired during the campaign accused Morse of incompetence as police chief of Fountain,[6] but were pulled from broadcast because of inaccuracies.
[15] He also sat on a special ethics panel investigating possible conflicts of interest for Colorado State Fair engineering contracts received by Sen. Abel Tapia.
[16] Among the legislation sponsored by Morse during the 2008 legislative session were a bill to increase drivers license fees to fund trauma care and require $5000 of trauma care to be covered in car insurance policies,[17][18][19] and a bill to increase marriage license fees to fund Court Appointed Special Advocate programs.
[23] Morse was also the Senate sponsor of successful legislation encouraging judges to consider restorative justice as part of juvenile sentencing.
[25] During the session, Morse was the lone legislator to vote in committee in favor of a proposal to require the use of paper ballot in all 2008 Colorado elections.
Newsome, who faced a challenger in the Republican primary for the district attorney's position, denied wrongdoing and alleged that Morse's accusations were "politics of personal destruction."
[34] In December, Morse was named Outstanding Public Official in the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado's 2008 Advancing Equality Awards.
All rifles generally considered semi-automatic (e.g., using only recoil to discharge a spent cartridge) were included in Morse's definition.
If enacted, SB13-196 would have subjected the owner, seller, distributor and/or manufacturer of an "assault weapon" to strict liability for injury unless able to prove that extensive standards of care had been followed.
[44][45] Another state senator, Angela Giron, also received enough signatures to force a recall election, although the two other targeted legislators, Rep. Mike McLachlan of Durango and Sen. Evie Hudak of Westminster, did not.