As you may know, American Gun Facts has been reporting on the recent ban on all semi-automatic firearms and a variety of other unconstitutional laws in Washington State. This legislation comes on the heels of a similar ban by Illinois which is already making its way through the courts.
In the face of this aggressive targeting of law-abiding Americans and disregard for individual rights, it’s encouraging to report on one state, as blue as the Illinois and Washington, which has gone the other way.
This is the Way!
After 15 hours of debate, multiple amendments, and desperate backroom maneuvering, three Democrats joined with four Republicans to kill a semi-auto ban in Colorado. The 6-7 vote in the state’s House judiciary committee effectively ends the threat to the individual right to own common weapons in Colorado.
Colorado traditionally had a strong culture of responsible gun ownership which was reflected in their laws. While Governor Jared Polis has signed some minor gun restrictions into law, he is considered more libertarian than most Democrats.
Colorado has trended left in recent years with Democrats controlling all three branches of government. But that can be deceptive. With only a five seat majority in the state senate and several conservative rural Democrat members, Colorado’s gun culture legacy still has legs.
The practical effect of blocking this unconstitutional legislation is that Colorado taxpayers won’t be on the hook for millions of dollars to fund the legal defense of the indefensible. While Washington and Illinois are trying to preserve their illegal power grabs in federal courts and ultimately the Supreme Court, Colorado citizens will continue to enjoy their natural rights.
The irony is that it was reasonable, responsible Democrats who stopped this legislation. One Democrat lawmaker, when asked about his vote to kill the gun ban responded that he promised his voters not to take guns away from law-abiding citizens. It’s nice to know that a promise made still means something to some of our elected representatives.
Meanwhile…
As for the Illinois law, it remains in effect after a 7th circuit judge ignored the Supreme Court’s requirement for a gun to be banned, it must be “dangerous and unusual.” The 7th circuit, in its ruling, claimed that “assault weapons” are particularly dangerous and therefore banning them is consistent with history and tradition. The ruling ignored the SCOTUS requirement that the weapon be “unusual.” Semi-auto rifles, being the most common long gun sold today, can hardly be described as unusual, no matter how hyperbolically the court defines “assault weapon.”
Washington State is headed for the same SCOTUS buzzsaw. The plain language of the law is clearly unconstitutional, none less the “force and effect” on individual rights for Washington citizens. While it is sad that any law-abiding American would be targeted for enjoying his or her natural rights, we take solace in knowing that the courts are ultimately unlikely to abide this clearly illegal nonsense.
Beyond that, it is up to voters to balance the scales by sending a clear message that rights do not come from government and, therefore, government can NEVER take them away.
Researched and written by the American Gun Facts team. We are a group of Americans dedicated to providing factual information on firearms and fighting back against attempts to weaken or discard the Second Amendment. We write on topics ranging from firearm statistics, news, reviews, and more! AGF has been featured in the New York Times, NBC, MSN, Time, & many other publications.