Colorado Governor Jared Polis proposed a bill, SB 003, that would create $1.6 million in funding for law enforcement to “investigate illegal activity involving firearms statewide, including investigating firearm transfers and attempts to illegally obtain firearms.” Funding law enforcement is generally a conservative priority, where “defunding the police” has been a staple slogan of the far left. Why then is this bill viewed as suspect by rank-and-file 2A advocates? Simply put, Colorado doesn’t have a great track record of identifying the real problems and addressing them.
The suspicion is earned and warranted. If you don’t know why, you probably don’t legally own a firearm. Legal firearms owners have reason to mistrust Colorado’s government. They have spent years painted as “bad guys” in the Colorado culture wars. Is the priority persecuting legal gun owners or prosecuting violent criminals? This should be easy to understand – they are not the same group! Criminals can’t legally own the guns. In recent history, Colorado has focused almost entirely on the wrong group.
Colorado’s gun crime discussions have become polarized by political opportunists. To see that, go to a hearing. One side of the room will be a group of people terrified of all things gun – most of them “can’t even imagine!” owning a gun and they certainly can’t tell you the difference between .223 and 5.56. The other side of the room is equally frightened…that the legislature is about to vote to make them criminals and take away their rights…for nothing…even though they can pass any background check…even though as a group they are the most law-abiding members of society.
So, why would a legislative body set on making criminals of the law abiding? Why not work on incarcerating criminals on the street? More importantly, how does criminalizing law abiding people and businesses help fix Colorado?… It doesn’t.
According to the US Department of Justice, violent crime went down in the United States for the second consecutive year in 2023; near ten-year lows. Not in Colorado, where violent crime has steadily increased since 2014. In 2013 Colorado passed a Universal Background Check Law and magazine capacity restrictions. Crime didn’t go down. It continues to climb. Why?
Answer: People committing violent gun crimes never cared about Colorado’s laws. They still don’t.
The US Department of Justice says that 90% of firearms used in commission of a crime aren’t purchased legally. The criminal sources are things like illegal “straw purchase,” illicit underground gun markets, and thefts. And, and, and an astonishing 78% of violent gun crimes are committed by people who CAN NOT LEGALLY BUY A GUN.
Colorado’s approach to gun crime has been an epic failure. Those efforts have always targeted the wrong people. Penalizing, persecuting, and criminalizing law-abiding gun owners and businesses does nothing to better Colorado. It has made it worse. It has divided people with a common goal (public safety) into scared, warring factions. It is time for a different approach.
Colorado lawmakers should stop imagining new ways to criminalize the law abiding. Law abiding citizens were never the problem. The numbers don’t lie. The problem in Colorado is the lack of will to investigate, prosecute and incarcerate the 78%.
It is time for a new approach. The old one never worked. Stop giving criminals an “out” by blaming the gun. Quit suggesting laws to turn “good guys” into “bad guys.” The question on SB 003 is not “should we spend money to catch bad guys.” Of course we should. The question is, can you trust Colorado to know the difference?
Call your legislator. We’re the good guys. Make sure they know it.
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