By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
A single paragraph in a report by Colorado Public Radio on a public hearing before a Senate committee Tuesday on Senate Bill 3, which would ban long guns with detachable magazines, clearly defined which political party stands by gun owners and which does not.
“But after eight hours of public testimony, the committee ultimately voted to advance the measure along party lines, with full Democratic support. All of the Republicans on the panel voted against it,” CPR reported.
Under provisions in SB25-003, “Unlawful manufacture, distribution, transfer, sale, or purchase of a specified semiautomatic firearm is a class 2 misdemeanor; except that a second or subsequent offense is a class 6 felony. The department of revenue shall revoke the state firearms dealer permit of a dealer who unlawfully manufactures, distributes, transfers, sells, or purchases a specified semiautomatic firearm. The Colorado bureau of investigation shall deny the transfer of a firearm to a person who was convicted of misdemeanor unlawful manufacture, distribution, transfer, sale, or purchase of a specified semiautomatic firearm within 5 years prior to the transfer. A person convicted of felony unlawful manufacture, distribution, transfer, sale, or purchase of a specified semiautomatic firearm is prohibited from possessing a firearm or certain other weapons.”
The bill’s primary sponsor is State Sen. Tom Sullivan (D-Centennial), whose son, Alex, was among the victims of the 2012 mass shooting at an Aurora theater. He has become one of the loudest voices for gun control in the state.
“The people of Colorado have mandated that we do something about the public health crisis that is gun violence, so that’s what we’re going to do,” Sullivan declared, according to CPR.
But according to KDVR News, opposition is mounting and there is already a threat of legal action. Ian Escalante, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, is promising swift action.
“We have a large group of gun owners who and Second Amendment defenders to oppose Senate Bill 3 which is the most egregious piece of gun control that has ever been filed in Colorado history,” Escalante said. “If this bill does make it to the governor’s desk and it goes into law, RMGO will be waiting before the ink is dry to file a lawsuit. We will have this struck down in court. There’s absolutely no way we can allow this to stand.”
On the other side, the billionaire-backed Everytown for Gun Safety, supports the measure. Allison Shih, an attorney representing Everytown, testified at the hearing. Quoted by CPR, Shih contended, “Unlike last year’s bill and what other states have done and the original federal prohibition on assault weapons, this is just fundamentally different in substance… It’s a new approach to still regulating military-style firearms, just in a completely different way from what any other state has done.”
Whether SB25-003 is, or is not, different from previous gun ban legislation, the measure still would prohibit an entire class of firearms, which critics contend would not make it “completely different” at all.
AS noted by the CPR report, “This year’s bill would amount to one of the most sweeping gun restrictions in the country.”
Democrats have a stranglehold in Colorado, with a 46-19 supermajority in the House and a commanding 23-12 majority in the Senate. That may be why CPR noted, “The committee vote bodes well for the bill’s prospects in the full Senate, where it’s headed next and needs wide Democratic support to pass.”
