More Restrictive Gun Regulations are Coming to Colorado

On March 22, 2021, a gunman walked into a Boulder King Soopers and killed 10 people. While a motive has yet to be determined, acquaintances and family of the suspect have described the shooter as having a “fierce temper,” along with being antisocial, paranoid and mentally ill.

In fact, Ali Aliwi Alissa, the suspect’s brother, told The Daily Beast that he was sure the shooting was “not at all a political statement, it’s mental illness.”

However, instead of the above prompting a conversation about how mental illness is driving gun violence, some Colorado lawmakers have focused on the guns themselves and passed Senate Bill 21-256. Here is what you need to know.

Senate Bill 21-256

Under current Colorado law, different counties, cities colleges, and special districts cannot pass gun regulations that go beyond state law. This means Boulder cannot ban “assault weapons” because Colorado’s state law does not prohibit them.

The above is more than just a simple example — just days before the Boulder shooting, a judge ruled that an assault weapons ban in Boulder violated state law, according to Colorado NewsLine.

More importantly, because the Boulder shooter used a Ruger AR-556 rifle (which meets the definition of “assault weapon” under Boulder’s ban) in his attack on King Soopers just days after the judge ruled against Boulder’s ban, some Colorado legislators have argued that allowing local governments to pass their own gun laws could help prevent mass shootings.

Thus, they have passed SB 256, which states: “The regulation of firearms is a matter of state and local concern. … The bill permits a local government to enact an ordinance, regulation, or other law governing or prohibiting the sale, purchase, transfer, or possession of a firearm, ammunition, or firearm component or accessory that is not less restrictive than state laws governing the sale, purchase, transfer, or possession of the firearm, ammunition, or firearm component or accessory.” SB 256 also adds local governments and higher education boards can make laws concerning concealed carry of handguns.

Simply put, SB 256 allows local governments to enact any gun law or regulation it wants if the rules are not less restrictive than current Colorado law. This means if Boulder wants to ban firearms, it can, but it cannot pass a law allowing 15-year-olds to purchase long guns as Colorado law requires a person to be at least 18 years old to do so.

Never let a tragedy go to waste

Unfortunately, some lawmakers are using the tragedy of mass shootings to pass laws that meet a specific political agenda without looking at the cause of the tragedy itself. Indeed, as I previously wrote, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) has investigated mass shootings, and their causes, for years, and the research is conclusive:

• 70 percent of mass shooters suffer from a mental health issue.
• 31 percent are suicidal prior to the shooting.
• Almost all mass shooters experienced significant trauma as a child.

Further, NIJ found that stopping mass shootings isn’t as simple as restricting gun access or enacting more gun laws — mass shooters are “very determined individuals, very difficult people to stop.” If they have decided to carry out a mass shooting, they will overcome whatever roadblocks are in their path, according to researchers.

What now for gun regulations?

Passing SB 256 will not prevent mass shootings. Instead, just restrict the rights of Coloradoans when it comes to legal gun ownership.

Moreover, focusing on guns as the problem ignores the bigger picture when it comes to mass shootings — that being, mass shooters often suffer from mental health issues and are driven by childhood trauma. More importantly, it confuses the issue by looking for simple solutions to complex problems. If lawmakers truly want to prevent mass shootings, they need to refrain from jumping to partisan politics whenever there is a tragedy that will fuel their base.

On June 21^st, 2021, Gov. Polis signed SB 256 into law. Consequently, local Colorado governments can now pass laws that apply only to their jurisdiction. As such, if you own a gun, you will want to keep an eye on your local governments to see what laws they are proposing and passing that could impact you and your weapon.

The Maverick Observer, or “The Moe” as we affectionately call it, is an online free-thinking publication interested in the happenings in our town. We launched in February 2020 to hold our politicians and businesses accountable. We hope to educate, inform, entertain, and infuse you with a sense of community.