This story by Sara Wilson appeared on Colorado Newsline on March 19, 2024.
Colorado lawmakers were set for a daylong hearing Tuesday, March 19, about a proposed ban on most semi-automatic rifles with hundreds of people signed up to share their support or opposition.
House Bill 24-1292 would prohibit the manufacture, import, transfer, purchase and sale of so-called “assault weapons” in Colorado. The bill provides a list of would-be banned features, such as a threaded barrel and pistol grip, and an extensive list of specific firearm models. People who already own these types of firearms would be allowed to keep them.
The bill is sponsored by Democratic Reps. Elisabeth Epps and Tim Hernández, both of Denver. Epps sponsored a similar bill last year, but it died in its first committee.
It is once again in front of the House Judiciary Committee, though the committee’s current makeup is more progressive than last year and the bill has a higher chance of making it through.
“The epidemic of preventable and interruptible gun violence is a uniquely American crisis in its proportions and in its reach, and that means that it gets to be addressed by uniquely American policy solutions. Poor choices at the policy level got us into this,” Epps said during her opening comments.
Hernández, the first Gen Z lawmaker at 27 years-old, spoke about maturing in an American culture where public mass shootings at places like schools, movie theaters and grocery stores have become commonplace.
“This has been happening my entire life. And to be frank with you, I’m not waiting anymore. Assault weapons must be banned in the state of Colorado. As a young person in the state, it was our state Legislature that taught me that nobody is coming to save us. I now teach the young people in my classroom that we must save ourselves,” he said.
Hernández has taught in both Denver and Aurora and is now an educator at the Urban Peak shelter.
“I cannot morally do nothing. I cannot morally do nothing like the adults in my life, and just ask students to wait. I cannot offer thoughts and prayers,” he said.
Opponents on Tuesday promised a legal challenge if the bill makes it through the legislative gauntlet and is signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis. Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, a gun-rights advocacy group, challenged a handful of firearm laws from last year, bolstered by the 2022 New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen decision from the U.S. Supreme Court, which places a high legal burden on gun restrictions.
“Let me be clear: If this bill is signed into law, before the ink is dry I will file a lawsuit. I can promise you that” RMGO Executive Director Taylor Rhodes said.
About 30% of federal court decisions in cases that cite Bruen have resulted in a Second Amendment violation, according to 2023 research.
Over 500 witnesses signed up to testify on the bill Tuesday. Chair Mike Weissman, an Aurora Democrat, limited total testimony to 12 hours. That meant they would likely take a vote on the bill close to midnight.