Addressing gun violence

The Feb. 25 edition of the Times-call had an article about increasing gun violence in Longmont. There were six gun violence incidences in 2023. Although well-intentioned, the gun store employee’s quotes do not address the problem in any measurable way. There is no evidence that pouring more guns into our communities is a solution. The data demonstrates higher prevalence of guns correlates strongly with higher gun injuries and deaths. Colorado is a high gun ownership state.

What is helping to address gun violence are laws passed by our Colorado Legislature. These laws have often been adopted and proven to work in other states. These include limiting magazine capacity, safe storage, background checks, red flag laws, addressing ghost guns and keeping guns away from domestic abusers and others with criminal histories. The gun industry has long opposed such measures — even opposing common sense measures like keeping guns out of the hands of domestic abusers. A woman whose abuser has access to a firearm is five times more likely to die than a woman whose abuser does not have this access.

Longmont Police Chief Jeff Satur was also interviewed for the Feb. 25 article. “Satur believes there’s not enough statewide accountability on youth to slow gun possession and violence. Satur said gun violence has been on the rise statewide in recent years and thinks that more aggressive laws, like those implemented by the state in the mid ’90s, could be the answer.”

As long as gun sales surge and weak laws exist, there is no America in our future that will be free from gun violence.