It’s Ground Hog Day and I’m reading another lopsided story about gun control in Colorado Politics (“Safe gun storage campaign launches ahead of legislation from General Assembly,” Feb. 1).

At least Bill Murray had some good days.

We now face the confluence of two bills that will likely become law and work together to screw gun owners.

First, a bill that forces you to choose between the ability to protect your family in an instant and the possibility of a year in jail known as “safe storage.” Under this bill, a single mother with a crazed ex-husband will either be breaking the law by keeping a handgun on or in her nightstand or hoping that in her adrenaline-spiked state she can open the safe before the front door collapses. That is, assuming this isn’t the time that the safe fails to open for dead batteries.

Second, we have a bill that turns a victim into a potential criminal with mandatory reporting of stolen firearms; never mind that your prescription meds, which are more dangerous, can be stolen without a requirement that you report it. As a matter of fact, I can’t think of anything else that you must report being stolen from you.

Think about how these bills work together. If someone smashes a window to gain access to your car and steals your self-defense handgun, you must inform the authorities that you are guilty of unsafe storage of a firearm. Your window is broken, your car is trashed, you’ve lost your gun, and you face the prospect of a year in jail.

But wait, there’s more: Colorado U.S. Rep. Jason Crow wants to make it illegal for a person to choose to drive the 17 miles from Peetz, CO to Sydney, NE to buy a rifle.

All of this during a period where more and more Americans are choosing to purchase their very first firearm because of the very real concerns they have felt all year for their safety. Maybe instead of new bills that demonize firearm owners and ownership, we should be considering laws that restore rights and streamline the purchasing process so that people aren’t forced to wait days when they are legitimately concerned for their safety.

Can we wake up in a different and better day?

Greg Brophy

Wray

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