Colorado Fires Up Change: Landmark Ban on Assault Weapons Approved

Colorado Fires Up Change: Landmark Ban on Assault Weapons Approved

Following recent shootings at Denver’s East High School, educators and students congregate outside the Colorado Capitol building to express their opposition to gun violence on March 24, 2023, in Denver. (For Colorado Newsline, Kevin Mohatt)

For the first time in state history, the Colorado House of Representatives enacted a ban on the sale, production, and transfer of so-called “assault weapons” on Sunday. This move moves the legislation to a less certain Senate hearing.

House Bill 24-1292 was approved by the chamber with three members excused, voting 35–27 in favor. Nine Democrats abstained from the vote, along with every Republican in attendance. The majority of those Democrats are from swing or rural areas.

Representative Shannon Bird from Westminster, Sheila Leider from Littleton, Bob Marshall from Highlands Ranch, Meghan Lukens from Steamboat Springs, Matthew Martinez from Alamosa, Tisha Mauro from Pueblo, Barbara McLachlan from Durango, Marc Snyder from Manitou Springs, and Mary Young from Greeley were the nine Democrats.

The fact that the bill passed is historic because an identical one failed to pass committee last year.

The bill would forbid rapid-fire trigger activators and numerous models of semi-automatic rifles and handguns, as well as define “assault weapon” in state law.

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It would provide for exemptions for law enforcement and the military, but it would not outlaw possession. A gun owner could leave these kinds of weapons in their will for their offspring.

Prior to the vote, Democratic congressman from Denver, Rep. Tim Hernández, was spending time reliving the last moments of four victims of the 1999 Columbine High School shooting, in which twelve students and one teacher were killed by shooters.

Mass shootings have now occurred around the state at an Aurora movie theater, a Boulder grocery store, a Highlands Ranch high school, and a Colorado Springs nightclub. The law claims that assault rifles are disproportionately used in mass shootings.

“In 25 years since the worst shooting ever to occur at a school in Colorado history — where you felt sick to your stomach — we still allow the weapons used to massacre children in a library to be sold. We still allow our cultural infatuation with guns to permeate our lives,” he remarked. Along with Denver Democrat Rep. Elisabeth Epps, Hernández oversaw the bill.

Republicans see the bill as a restriction on their capacity to protect their families and themselves and as an assault on their Second Amendment rights.

Additionally, they contended that the weapons included in the measure include firearms, which Coloradoans frequently utilize for hunting and sports, which are significant sources of income and enjoyment for the state.

They argued that mental health problems are the primary source of gun violence and that criminals will still find methods to obtain assault weapons.

The bill is currently on its way to the Senate, where Denver Democrat Sen. Julie Gonzales is the bill’s sponsor. The end of the legislative session is May 8.

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