Pubdate: Mon, 19 Feb 2007
Source: Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)
Copyright: 2007, Denver Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.rockymountainnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/371
Author:  Bianca Prieto, Rocky Mountain News

POT ADVOCATE AMONG 3 KILLED SATURDAY IN SEPARATE SLAYINGS

Three men were killed in Denver in separate incidents Saturday, 
including one of the city's most visible pro-pot advocates.

Ken Gorman, a longtime Denver resident, was found shot around 7:30 
p.m. Saturday in his home in the 1000 block of South Decatur Street. 
He died later at the hospital.

Gorman's family identified him Sunday as the victim.

Denver police released few details about the shooting, but said it 
may have involved a home invasion.

"Ken has been around forever, and he did quite a bit to draw 
attention to an issue that he believed in," said Mason Tvert, 
executive director of SAFER, an organization that helped legalize 
possession of small amounts of pot in Denver.

Gorman hosted several "smokeouts" on the steps of the state Capitol 
over the years and was an advocate for legalizing the drug.

Tvert, who was reached while out of town, was unaware of Gorman's 
death until contacted.

"He was willing to smoke a joint at the state Capitol, which takes a 
degree of courage," Tvert said.

CBS 4 News aired a story about Gorman last week that showed him 
helping others get around the medical marijuana law restrictions by 
making them care providers.

Colorado is one of 11 states that allows the use of medical marijuana.

The CBS 4 News segment also showed Gorman with marijuana plants he 
grew in his house.

Police have not named a suspect or said if anything was taken from the home.

On Sunday evening, the porch light was lit and yellow police tape was 
still wrapped around the brick duplex where Gorman lived.

"For over 20 or 30 years, (Gorman) has been at the forefront of the 
issue, but if marijuana was legal, this would not have happened," Tvert said.

"The thing that Ken spent his entire life fighting ended up killing 
him, and that's marijuana prohibition, and not marijuana."

Denver police on Sunday also were investigating the deaths of two other men.

A man in his mid-40s was shot to death near 21st and Arapahoe streets 
around 4 a.m. Saturday. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Another man, in his late teens, was shot and killed in the 4700 block 
of Beach Court around 11 p.m. Saturday.

Neither man's name was released and no suspects have been named in 
either shooting.

Meanwhile, police in Aurora are investigating a death in the 1000 
block of Dayton Street they are calling suspicious.

Police were dispatched to an apartment building on Friday around 
11:30 a.m. after a caller reported an odor coming from one of the 
units. A woman was found dead inside the apartment.

The Aurora homicide unit is investigating, but did not name the woman 
or release any other details. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake