Our rights are being taken away by politicians in Denver

Editor:

This concerns the sportspersons and gunowners in Colorado.

The following was taken from the May 17 issue of the Colorado Springs Gazette concerning our Second Amendment rights being incrementally taken away by politicians in Denver. It's what the Gazette calls a Sunday Perspective, and it was written by the executive director of the Colorado State Shooting Association, Huey Laugesen.

According to Mr. Laugesen's article, since 2013, a labyrinth of "layered restrictions, mandates, taxes, bans, and permitting schemes" appear innocuous as single-item laws, but when added together equal far greater damage to our rights than its separate parts.

A short list of random examples of this would be the requirement that Colorado gun dealers must also apply and pay for a state firearms license including already possessing a federal one. Another is mandating a waiting period for firearm purchases, raising the minimum age to purchase to 21, universal background checks, a 15-round magazine restriction, enhanced 'red flag' laws, plus mandating gun-storage requirements in the home. More serious was the erosion of the state's preemption framework which left giving cities and counties leeway to decide on their own set of restrictions beyond the state's as long as they were not less restrictive.

Which brings us to their crown jewel of the pirates treasure over the rights of the law-abiding people: Senate Bill 25-03. SB25-03 is unique because it goes beyond simply regulating transactions and accessories into the broader category of regulating commonly-owned firearms utilized in hunting, recreational shooting, and personal self-defense. The law targets semi-auto firearms capable of accepting detachable magazines. Thus, after August 1, 2026, a legal gun buyer in Colorado will not be able to purchase a wide-variety of semi-auto firearms without first being subjected to a permitting process in order to exercise their constitutional Second Amendment rights.

That said, and mainly because I'm sick of hearing about some in the anti-gun crowd crowing about "caring so much about human life," while supporting a procedure euphemistically called "Women's Healthcare," I'll conclude with my own 'Colorado Comparison.' All 2024 approximate gun-related deaths in this state equaled about 960, with 710 of those being classified as suicides. All 2024 estimated abortions in this state is around 24,610, with convenience actually listed as a reason within the top three. Since I didn't attend a Minneapolis 'Learing Center,' I'll do the math; that's about 25 times more extinguished lives through so-called 'healthcare' procedures than through so-called 'gun violence.'

Perhaps the most earthly powerful in our society should be looking into why so many people lose all loving hope and destroy themselves or others through suicide or abortion?

Jon Matuszczak

Gunnison