Each new session of the Colorado General Assembly ushers in bills written to suppress the Second Amendment’s prohibition of anti-gun laws. A better-written Second Amendment would leave less ambiguity, but any reasonable interpretation includes gun rights for law-abiding individuals.

Because the Second Amendment has always been less than crystal clear, politicians of all stripes have tried to limit and expand its meaning. Local, state and federal courts routinely try to balance the original intent of gun rights with the pragmatic needs of modern humanity.

Among this year’s bills, at least two deserve consideration. Another would get people killed.

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Constructive gun laws that save lives and enhance public safety accomplish two things: 1. Keep guns from people likely to disrupt the peace; and 2. Vigorously prevent obstruction to owning and possessing arms by adults who abide the law.

The general philosophy in regulating guns should be the same as in medicine: Do no harm.

The Second Amendment saves lives when enforced to create an imbalance of power that favors guns in the hands of law-abiding people and keeps them from criminals, drug dealers, insurrectionists, the severely mentally ill, or others likely to do more harm than good.

Senate Bill 107, sponsored by Republican State Sen. Bob Gardner, exemplifies good gun legislation crafted to further promote the imbalance we need.

Under existing gun regulations, most felons in Colorado may not buy, sell, own, or possess a gun. They should not have guns because they have shown a propensity to violate the law, which means they may use a gun to cause further harm.

Incredibly, in a state riddled with dangerous gun laws, felons own and carry firearms within the boundaries of the law. Loopholes allow guns in the hands of convicted drug manufacturers, dealers, sellers, and distributors. Insanely, our laws allow those convicted of first- and second-degree motor vehicle theft to have guns.

Senate Bill 107 would put a stop to it by simply adding “drug manufacture, dispensation, sale, and distribution; drug possession with intent to manufacture, dispense, sell, and distribute; and first and second-degree motor vehicle theft” to convictions that negate gun rights.

Illicit drugs kill. Commonsense tells us drug felons should not have guns, nor should those who commit major property crimes for which guns are useful.

House Bill 1174 would enhance the minimal training required for individuals to receive permits to carry concealed. Along with requirements for instructions on the safe storage of guns and ammunition to keep them from unsupervised children, the bill would teach “Techniques for avoiding a criminal attack and how to manage a violent confrontation…”

Law-abiding people who carry concealed should hope they never need to pull the gun. They should welcome learning more about avoiding lethal force while maintaining their right and readiness to use it.

In stark contrast to constructive proposals to regulate guns, we have Senate Bill 131. It would effectively ban the possession of firearms the moment one leaves a private residence.

Once again, extremism kills. Imagine a woman stalked by a maniac, unable to leave her home with the protection of a gun. Imagine the advantage this gives to haters who target the elderly, the LGBTQIA-plus community, and various minority groups.

No right is absolute, including the right to a gun. To get this right, the legislature should create a heavy gun imbalance that deprives killers and empowers those who favor law, order, and life.

Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial Board