To impose a litany of dangerous new gun-control measures of questionable legality, legislative Democrats have put ignorance on full display.

Take, for example, Rep. Chad Clifford’s recent comments reported by the Colorado State Shooting Association (the official state association of the NRA) in a March 28 email. After multiple gun owners testified that Senate Bill 066 would establish a state gun registry, Clifford responded during a committee hearing:

“We have a lot of databases… we have the CBI records checks that we already check. We have your concealed weapons permits… so I don’t know that we are looking at some newfangled database specifically to create something to identify who has a gun. We have that. That exists…”

John Seville, president of the Colorado State Shooting Association, tells us Clifford “is either remarkably confused, or saying the quiet part out loud.”

Fact 1: There is no state gun registry. Fact 2: Democrats are pursuing a bill to accomplish exactly what Rep. Clifford says they have. The bill would force those who process transactions for firearms retailers to use a category code that would facilitate a registry.

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A slate of other proposals reveal that other legislative Democrats are similarly clueless about guns and appropriate regulations – those that would genuinely save lives. Examples:

? “Safe storage” of firearms in vehicles (HB24-1348)

Proponents must hope carjackers, rapists and murderers hold their fire when a victim struggles in self-defense to retrieve a gun from a locked container under the seat. It is a guaranteed way to create an imbalance of power that favors criminals over victims. It could have no other effect.

Democrats in the House Judiciary Committee passed the bill after killing one that would have increased the penalty for theft of firearms – a meaningful measure to mitigate gun crimes. That means they declined to punish criminals and advanced a bill that will help them commit more crimes against defenseless victims.

? Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax (HB24-1349)

The bill would impose an 11% tax on all firearms and ammunition. Excise taxes, such as those levied on cigarettes and marijuana, are commonly referred to as “sin taxes.” They are intended to discourage acquisition of that which is taxed. They are regressive, imposing the most harm on those with the least money and influence.

Gun-ownership is a right, not a wrong. It is protected by the Second Amendment, unlike getting high.

The far left’s confusion on guns should come as no surprise. The same Democrats cracking down on Second Amendment rights believe drug addicts have a right (they do not) to shoot up at “safe injection sites” provided by taxpayers.

? “Assault” weapon ban (HB24-1292)

The bill would ban “weapons of war” for civilians. It sounds good, but the bill targets any semi-automatic, center-fire gun that accepts a magazine – a definition so broad it includes the vast majority of firearms in common use today, including handguns commonly carried for self-defense by people from all walks of life.

Good gun laws make firearms available to law-abiding citizens while keeping them away from criminals. This bill would do the opposite. Criminals would not obey it; law-abiding citizens would. Like the other bills, it promotes another imbalance of power that favors violent criminals over prospective victims.

? “School Safety Measures” (HB24-1310)

The bill would bar k-12 school districts from allowing teachers and faculty trained by organizations like FASTER Colorado to carry concealed handguns for school security. Radicalized Democrats, with full control of state government, again ignore the facts. All public school shootings have occurred in gun-free zones. No shooter has targeted a FASTER school.

Gun rights are not absolute. Of course, we need boundaries around them. Those boundaries should favor peaceful, stable, law-abiding citizens. These bills favor violent criminals, burdening only those most likely to stop them.

Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial Board