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Colorado anti-gun violence groups say end the ‘killing fields’

By JOEY BUNCH 10/08/2017 | updated 8 years ago

A collaboration of 14 Colorado anti-gun violence groups is calling on state and federal lawmakers to address the nation’s “killing fields” with tougher laws.

“Public places, from parking lots to playing fields, have become killing fields,” said Marnie Kamensky, a board member for Colorado Ceasefire, one of the groups that make up the Colorado Coalition Against Gun Violence, in a statement.

“I don’t want to worry when I send my kids to school, a movie or a concert that they will be victims of a senseless tragedy like a mass shooting. This is not the society that I want to raise my kids in. When weapons can rain down hundreds of bullets per minute and kill people from great distance – similar to the distance from the City and County Building to these Capitol steps – it’s past time for Americans to demand that lawmakers act to protect us.”

The coalition is asking for a ban on assault weapons, among on other common-sense gun laws,” according to its statement:

“Assault weapons were invented for battlefield use and accomplish their killing power through high velocity bullets, enabling long-distance lethality, and the ability to fire a high number of rounds without reloading. The alteration of assault weapons with the use of “bump” stocks, like those used in the Las Vegas shooting, makes them even more lethal.”

Some of their requests are state policies from their gun opponents: universal background checks, a ban on civilian ownership of military-style weapons and high-capacity magazines, as well as ban bump stocks, which convert semi-automatic rifles to fully automatic. The modification was used by the gunman who killed 58 people and injured more than 500 in Las Vegas a week ago.

Other requests are political overreach, such as having elected officials decline campaign donations from the National Rifle Association and abandoning all bills supported by the gun industry.

But in the coalition’s statement, Tom Mauser, whose son, Daniel, was one of the 12 students killed at the Columbine High School in 1999, accused politicians, such as Colorado’s Sen. Cory Gardner and Rep. Ken Buck, of taking the gun-makers’ “blood money.”

“They have been negligent when it comes to public safety,” Mauser said in a statement. “They must act now.

“And all of us who are appalled at what happened in the Las Vegas shooting must act to ensure Congress gets the message: No More Killing Fields!” he concluded.

In addition to Ceasefire, the coalition includes Ampathy, the Brady Campaign, the Colorado Faith Communities United Against Gun Violence, Colorado Parent Teacher Association, Golden Action for Public Safety, Hunters Against Gun Violence, the League of Women Voters, Matthew Shepard Foundation, Moms Demand Action, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Progress Now, Safe Campus Colorado and The Westside Action Group.

JOEY BUNCH

Reporter

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