“Is this the new normal?” Few events in history change the “normal.” September 11, 2001. The murder of students at Columbine High School. The COVID-19 virus and the rapid restrictions by government of individual liberties.

Can we relate the COVID-19 experience to the 2nd Amendment, the right of individuals to keep and bear arms, and the Extreme Risk Protection Order or “Red Flag” law in Colorado? Comparing a dangerous pandemic to the lawful carrying of weapons, should government officials have the “power” to impose draconian restrictions, or do we have the responsibility to protect individual liberty?

Colorado’s Constitution proudly declares that all “persons have certain natural, essential and inalienable rights, among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; of acquiring, possessing and protecting property; and of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness” and the “right of no person to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person and property… shall be called in question.”

Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, the “normal” was the protection of individual liberties vs. government intrusion on these liberties. Witnessing the expansion of power in the name of a pandemic emergency reaffirms my opposition to Colorado’s Red Flag law.

Individual rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights must take precedence over the rights of government to seize power. We cannot go down the path of a “new normal” based on fears of a potential event. We cannot allow a “new normal” to occur, one where government can seize firearms without due process – the opportunity for the firearm owner to provide for a defense – and certainly not in a situation where a firearm owner is assumed guilty until he can prove himself innocent.

Another long-term issue in Colorado is the effect of urbanization on nearby unincorporated residents. Unlike El Paso County, some municipal governments limit recreational shooting of firearms within their boundaries through the zoning or ordinance process. As governments review requests to regulate recreational shooting on private property, we must remember the constitutional protection for property rights such as the right to “enjoying…, possessing and protecting” his own private property.

While there may brief periods of time during which government arguably may act extraordinarily, we can never let such an emergency strip citizens of their rights under our Constitution. If government can so easily seize power during a pandemic, we need to hold fast to our 2nd amendment rights on our own personal property. We have a responsibility to defend our liberties and not surrender our individual liberties out of fear of the unknown.

Holly Williams represents El Paso County Commissioner District 1. She also served for two terms as the Public Trustee of El Paso County.