The organizers of an effort to recall Colorado Senate President John Morse turned in Monday more than twice the number of signatures required to force a special election, possibly setting the stage for an expensive, national battle over gun control.

If the signatures are determined to be valid and survive a court challenge, it's likely voters in Morse's Senate district will decide at a special election in September whether to oust the Colorado Springs Democrat.
Morse's support of gun-control legislation in the 2013 session as well as his leadership style sparked the recall effort.

"Keeping Coloradans safe from gun violence is very worth your political career," Morse said Monday afternoon in a conference call with

reporters. "It's important that we not lose sight about where we are at this juncture."
He pointed to a shooting at an Aurora movie theater nearly a year ago where 12 people died and the massacre at a Connecticut elementary school in December, where 26 people, including 20 first-graders, were slain.