In the wake of such terrible and tragic national events, Uvalde and Buffalo being just two examples, I have had many people reach out to me and say, “We must do more to prevent these tragedies from occurring.” Here in Colorado, we are far too familiar with the pain of mass shootings. It is hard not to feel hopeless after such a traumatic event. My heart truly aches as I try to process these tragedies. How can this be our reality?
Acknowledging these feelings, it is important to know that there is progress and change happening in Colorado to address and prevent gun violence.
In 2013, after the Aurora theater shooting, we passed legislation which closed the private gun sale loophole that permitted firearm transfers without background checks, limited the size of magazines allowed to be sold or possessed, made it harder for perpetrators of domestic violence to access firearms, and enhanced quality training for those seeking a concealed-carry permit.
In 2019, the legislature passed a Red Flag law, which enables a family or household member or a law enforcement officer to petition the court for a temporary extreme risk protection order (ERPO) if a person poses a significant risk to themselves or others by possessing a firearm — a policy that has been highly successful in reducing gun-related deaths across Colorado since it went into effect in January 2020. It’s been particularly effective in reducing the number of suicides with a gun. Truly a life saving piece of legislation.
Last year, in 2021, we passed six gun violence prevention bills, making 2021 one of the most productive and unprecedented gun reform sessions in Colorado legislative history. These bills strengthened our background check system, further restricted those with violent records from accessing firearms, and mandated safe storage requirements for guns which we hope will make it difficult for kids to access weapons.
We passed a law to make it mandatory to report a lost or stolen firearm and, in response to the King Soopers shooting, removed the statewide preemption so that local governments could pass their own gun violence prevention ordinances.
We also established the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which treats gun violence in communities as the public health issue that it is. The office provides evidence-informed resources to organizations to conduct community-based gun violence intervention initiatives focused on interrupting cycles of gun violence, trauma, and retaliation that have demonstrated promise at reducing gun violence without contributing to mass incarceration.
Finally, this year we passed the Vote Without Fear Act, which prohibits the open carry of firearms at or near polling places. Armed voter intimidation has also been targeted at nonpartisan election officials simply doing their jobs.
I’m proud that Colorado has taken these steps to protect our communities, but I know it’s not enough. We can and should do more. I strongly encourage you to contact our federal congressional delegation and urge them to enact common sense gun safety measures to keep our families and communities safe.
I support the “Protecting our Kids Act” that just passed the U.S. House of Representatives and is now with the Senate. We need nationwide reform to truly address this crisis, and it is well past time for Congress to act.
We and our children need to be able to safely go to school, to the grocery store, to church or to any public place without fear of gun violence. My colleagues and I have already started work on additional gun safety legislation ideas for our state. The unacceptable trauma of gun violence affects us all. And it is up to all of us to continue to speak up and act to make freedom from gun violence a reality.
Karen McCormick, DVM, represents House District 11 in the Colorado Legislature. She has resided in Longmont for more than 28 years.
