Colorado Democrats blasted for sweeping gun control measures: ‘Self-defense is not a sin. It’s a human right’

Colorado Democratic lawmakers are pushing a package of gun control laws that would make it more challenging for residents to buy and carry firearms. 

The nine bills lawmakers are attempting to pass have gained traction in the state’s Democratic-controlled general assembly while largely avoiding attention, Fox News reported. If approved, the legislation would ban “assault weapons” or semiautomatic rifles such as AR-15s, appoint an 11% tax on ammunition and gun sales, restrict where guns can be carried in public, and make firearm storage in vehicles mandatory.  

“Lawmakers are using these outrageous bills as blueprints, changing the state names and implementing them across the country at a state level because they don’t have the votes to do it nationally,” said Ava Flanell, a Colorado Springs firearms instructor. 

“Last year, it was Washington where they all passed, and the laws are decimating gun stores without a single positive impact on crime. Today, it’s Colorado. These same bills will show up in other states tomorrow if we don’t come together as a whole to fight this,” Flanell added. 

The state House already approved one of the bills, which is focused on increasing concealed carry training, along party lines. The state Senate also passed legislation that would allow the funding for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to investigate crimes related to illegal use of firearms, Axios reported.  

While Democrats said the bills would decrease gun violence, Republicans and gun-rights activists blasted the proposed legislation as an overregulation that targets the wrong group of people.

“Why are we making it difficult or impossible for people to exercise their Second Amendment rights?” Republican state Rep. Scott Bottoms said earlier this month, questioning the firearm-training legislation specifically. “This is wholly against the Constitution unless you say, ‘We’ll pay for it.’”

Research shows that most mass shootings occur in gun-free zones, Flanell said. 

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“Most of these proposed bills in Colorado will hurt the underprivileged the most, ensuring only the wealthy can protect themselves or express their constitutionally protected right,” Flanell added. “Self-defense is not a sin. Self-defense is a human right.”

Colorado’s attempt to adopt strict gun control laws echoes other states, such as California, which also has an 11% tax on ammunition and gun sales and has attempted to ban semiautomatic rifles. Last year, state lawmakers approved a sweeping ban on firearms in sensitive places that went into effect at the start of this year. The state of Washington also recently banned “assault weapons.”