Colorado's assault weapons ban stalls amid legislative challenges

That definition angered many, if not all, Second Amendment supporters across the state, including Republican El Paso County Sheriff Joe Roybal.

“The gun that’s on my side here, under the definition of this bill, is an assault weapon,” Roybal said in discussing the legislation’s overly broad wording.

Roybal was part of a chorus of Republican voices in party opposition to Democratic legislation intended to ban certain weapons used in mass shootings.

Colorado has a tragic history of mass shootings, including at Columbine High School in 1999, the Aurora movie theater shooting in 2012, Halloween 2015 in downtown Colorado Springs, the Planned Parenthood shooting in Colorado Springs in 2015, at Boulder King Soopers in 2021 and at the 2022 Club Q Shoot in Colorado Springs. Many of the guns covered by the bill were used in some of the nation's deadliest shootings, such as the school shootings in Sandy Hook and Uvalde, Texas.

On the announcement that the ban would be put on hold until the session, Roybal said, “Taking guns away from law-abiding citizens while lessening penalties for criminals is not the solution to make our communities safer. » The proposed ban did not include any mention of criminal sentencing.

Advocates for the legislation, such as Deb Griffin, a volunteer with the Colorado Springs chapter of Moms Demand Action, say fighting for public safety measures like an assault weapons ban can protect people from violence. armed violence. However, gun control advocates admitted the bill faces a series of steep hurdles, including public scrutiny as well as almost certain legal challenges.

“We knew it was going to be an uphill battle,” Griffin said.