DENVER – In the wake of more mass shootings in Colorado and across the nation, gun control advocates wonder whether the time is right to rehash familiar subjects.
It’s unclear whether the state Legislature would debate the topic again when the next session kicks off in January. Lawmakers and gun control advocates interviewed by The Durango Herald said no proposals have yet materialized.
Democrats might be reluctant to push controversial measures in a presidential election year. After measures in 2013 that banned high-capacity ammunition magazines and required universal background checks, two state Democratic lawmakers were recalled from office later that year. Colorado Democrats suffered additional losses at the polls in 2014, with gun control often taking center stage. One of those lawmakers was Durango Democrat Mike McLachlan, who lost his House seat to Republican Rep. J. Paul Brown of Ignacio.
Adding to complications is a split Legislature, in which Republicans control the Senate. Democrats might not want to spend time on a controversial bill that would eventually die.
But recent events have energized gun control supporters, who have specifically taken aim at the state’s open-carry law. A Halloween morning shooting in Colorado Springs resulted in three dead before the suspect was shot and killed by police.
A dispatcher who received a 911 call from a concerned resident who witnessed the suspect carrying a rifle moments before the rampage, told the caller that it was legal for the suspect to be carrying the rifle openly in public.
The most recent Colorado shooting spree – at a Planned Parenthood last Friday, also in Colorado Springs – has only added to those conversations. While the event was less directly connected to the state’s open-carry law, the high-profile incident offered an opportunity to continue discussions.
A police officer and two civilians were killed in the Planned Parenthood attack, with another nine injured by bullets. The suspect later surrendered to authorities.
Just Wednesday afternoon, yet another mass shooting was reported in San Bernardino, Calif., where 14 people were killed and dozens were injured. “Hopefully, in the days ahead, our nation, our state and the city of Colorado Springs will endeavor to find the means to address the awful toll of gun violence in our communities, on persons robbed of their lives or their abilities, and on the families so disastrously affected,” said Eileen McCarron, president of gun control group Colorado Ceasefire. “May we all be granted the wisdom and the courage to begin saving lives.”
President Barack Obama has made passionate pleas to address gun control, with a statement following the Planned Parenthood shooting that read: “If we truly care about this – if we’re going to offer up our thoughts and prayers again, for God knows how many times, with a truly clean conscience – then we have to do something about the easy accessibility of weapons of war on our streets to people who have no business wielding them.”
Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, also weighed in, adding: “I’m not willing to say we have to sit back and accept this as a cost of freedom. We have to really look at how we address this issue and make sure that people who are unstable, who have violent histories, do not get access to weapons.”
U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, a staunch gun-rights supporter, said restricting weapons nationally for the general public would not likely solve any problems.
“The focus should be on finding ways to do more to identify and help mentally ill and unstable people in this country before they commit these types of crimes,” Tipton said. “Narrowly focused policies that restrict law-abiding citizens’ access to firearms and ammunition do nothing to prevent acts of violence by those that have no regard for the law, and raise serious constitutional concerns.”
State lawmakers representing Southwest Colorado – who are Republican – are cautious about rushing into state legislation.
“I still believe that there’s a few bad people out there,z and I don’t know how you get around it,” Brown said. “Those people are going to get guns no matter what. More gun control takes away the ability of good law-abiding citizens to defend themselves.”
Rep. Don Coram, R-Montrose, said one answer might be extra vigilance.
“If someone is walking around with a rifle or a gun, and their mannerism, their appearance, is suspect, I’m all for profiling,” Coram said. “Let’s get someone out there investigating to see what’s going on.”
Sen. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, suggested putting a coalition together, including law enforcement and mental-health experts, to address the issue in an effort to curtail partisan politics.
“In my view, many of these tragic circumstances have happened with perpetrators who have mental-health issues,” Roberts said. “That is another critical component.”
pmarcus@durangoherald.com