Colorado has universal background checks, a “high capacity” magazine ban, and 10 officers shot in five weeks, three fatally.
The Democrats persuaded the state that it would not be this way when they passed their California-style gun controls in the wake of the attack on Sandy Hook Elementary. Rank and file lawmakers, and Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) too, jumped on gun control as a way of preventing violence in Colorado yet the state has experienced violence against officers and high profile attacks on the public since gun control was implemented.
On October 31, 2015, Noah Harpman opened fire on the streets of Colorado Springs, killing three innocents before he was killed by police. Moreover, Harpman complied with all gun controls in acquiring the firearms he possessed at the time of the attack.
Less than a month later, on November 27, 2015, Robert L. Dear opened fire at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, killing two civilians and a police officer before being apprehended by police.
During the last five weeks alone 10 officers have been shot in Colorado. The Denver Post reports that El Paso County Deputy Micah Flick was shot and killed on February 5, Adams County Deputy Heath Gumm was shot and killed on January 24, and Douglas County Deputy Zack Parrish was killed on December 31, 2017.
Colorado has universal background checks, which Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) described as the gun control “North Star” for Democrats. They also have a “high capacity” magazine ban, regulations on how long a gun can be loaned to a friend before a another background check must required, and other controls. And so far, these gun controls have simply correlated with high profile shootings and a war on police.
Following the November 27, 2015, high-profile shooting CNN’s Brianna Keilar looked at Gov. Hickenlooper and said, “Those [gun control] efforts that you helped spearhead obviously didn’t [prevent the Planned Parenthood shooting].” An honest assessment today would show that “those [gun control] efforts” also failed to prevent other high profile shootings and the current surge in violence that resulted in the deaths of three officers and left seven others wounded.
Gun control never makes the vulnerable less vulnerable, only moreso.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange