Sen. Cory Gardner met with me and then turned his back on us

m writing this on a cell phone from the hallways of the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C.

I, along with 15 women and one man, made the trip from Colorado to our nation’s Capitol to personally urge Sens. Cory Gardner and Michael Bennet to vote no on Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination.

Many of our group brought our personal stories of sexual assault along with us. They are always with us.

We were able to get an inperson meeting with Sen. Michael Bennet. In that meeting we shared our stories, and felt supported and believed.

We also got a meeting with Sen. Gardner’s chief of staff and press director. But we wanted to talk to Gardner face to face — to share our stories and our fears. So we waited outside his office for what turned out to be five hours, hoping to talk to him. Hundreds of Coloradans back home heard our story on social media and sprung into action, calling Gardner’s D.C. office to urge him to meet with us. It worked.

Gardner met with us on Thursday at 3 p.m., and we told him how we all heard the same testimony given by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford as the rest of the world, and that we believed her. She was steady, calm, and didn’t interrupt senators or the female prosecutor hired by Senate Republicans to question her.

We pressed Gardner for his decision. We shared our own stories. For some of us, these stories represent the most terrifying moments of our lives. Gardner looked us in the eyes and appeared to be listening. He told us he didn’t know yet how he was going to vote. He mentioned how important it was for him to read the FBI report — regardless of the public outcry from the many potentially corroborating witnesses who had never and would never be contacted.

After our meeting, local Colorado reports made a brief national stir, Gardner was now an “undecided” vote. Had he actually heard us? Reports were that his staff had told The Denver Post that he hadn’t made up his mind. Sadly, once we left, his office released a statement to contradict that reporting. He stood by Kavanaugh, and was planning to vote for him.

On Friday morning, the seven remaining Colorado women went to the Senate to watch the cloture vote. We watched from the gallery as Gardner voiced a loud “yes” to end debate and advance Kavanaugh’s nomination for a final floor vote. As he voted, we Colorado women stood up in the gallery and turned our backs on him, just like he turned his back on us.

Sen. Gardner, I still strongly urge you to reconsider, and vote no on Brett Kavanaugh. Let me be clear. We will be heard.