Superior passes gun safety measures, joining Boulder
Lafayette has first reading on four firearm ordinances
Two more municipalities in Boulder County have joined Boulder and Louisville in the fight to end gun violence at the local level.
Lafayette and Superior’s local governments met Tuesday night to discuss a package of ordinances that will enact stricter and more comprehensive gun safety laws.
The Superior Town
Board voted unanimously to pass the measures, while Lafayette City Council only held the first reading on a handful of ordinances.
Superior’s legislation will repeal the current article in the town’s municipal code regarding possession and use of weapons in the town and replace it with updated regulations that address assault weapons, large capacity magazines, trigger activators, and the purchase and sale of firearms in Superior.
State Sen.steve Fenberg commended the Superior Town Board members during the meeting for considering the gun safety measures at a local level.
In response to the shooting at the Table Mesa King Soopers in Boulder in March 2021, the state authorized Senate Bill 256 last June, allowing local governments to enact laws and take affirmative action to address gun violence and gun safety within their respective communities.
“I am so incredibly proud to be a part of the Boulder County community because of these actions and these ordinances. This manner of enacting these ordinances in the way that you are doing it is precisely what we had in mind when we passed this law,” Fenberg said.
“In some ways this is the state passing the baton to local communities to have this conversation and be empowered to make these ordinances, knowing full well that that baton is coming back to us in the near future to continue the work that has to be done at the state level,” Fenberg added.
Before the ordinances were approved, the board heard from several residents during public comment. Many were in support of the legislation, sharing personal stories of experiences with gun violence.
Three 13-year-old students from Eldorado PK-8 school in Superior shared what it was like for elementary school students to practice lockdown drills.
The girls said that throughout the school year
they conduct a lockdown drill every other month, in which they lock their classroom doors, turn off the lights, block the windows and then go hide in the windows blind spots. The school’s vice principal announces on the loudspeaker to the students that they don’t need to worry – this is just a drill and only a drill.
“She says this because these drills cause so much pain and panic after the King Soopers shooting. When we do these drills, some of our classmates – no matter how many times anyone says that it’s just a drill – they still start to freak out at the glimpse of what could happen on any day that we go to school,” one of the girls said. “We are 13 and we are fighting for our lives.”
Though many spoke in favor of the legislation, several members of the public were opposed to the gun safety measures.
Jason Shepard was among those who spoke out against the ordinances, arguing that they would negatively affect responsible gun owners while doing little to stop mass shootings.
“Of course, mass shootings are atrocious. But don’t equate responsible gun owners as the evil you’re facing. None of us want to see the violence, yet the efforts you’re attempting to pass will unfortunately in no way change the effects of gun violence in our communities.”
“Look no further than Chicago and California, who have the worst gun violence in the country, with the strictest gun laws,” Shepard said.
Despite the public pushback, the board unanimously agreed that the gun safety measures were in the best interest for Superior residents.
“I ran for this office as a mom to put our children’s welfare first. That’s why I’m supporting these measures which I believe are common-sense reasonable measures that are designed to produce real results for firearm safety, including mass shootings but also domestic violence and suicides, which are a huge part of gun violence.” said Trustee Paige Henchen in her support of the ordinances.
“I’ve done my best to understand the perspective of responsible gun owners because I respect that perspective. But at the end of the day, I think this is something reasonable that we can do to keep our communities safe,” Henchen added.
In Lafayette, the first reading of four firearm ordinances were preceded by a Gun Violence Awareness Day proclamation.
The City Council passed a resolution expressing support for fellow Colorado governments enacting and enforcing the firearms regulations.
The resolution also called upon the Colorado General Assembly to enact statewide laws to address gun violence and prevention.
Lafayette City Council will vote on the four ordinances at a later council meeting.