March 23, 2021 (The Daily Poster)<\/a><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Poster2.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSource: NRA-ILA website<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n By David Sirota, Andrew Perez, and Joel Warner<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Last week, the National Rifle Association publicly celebrated<\/a> its success in striking down an assault weapons ban in Boulder, Colo. Five days later, Boulder was the scene of a mass shooting<\/a>, reportedly with the same kind of weapon that the city tried to ban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Monday, the nation\u2019s attention was focused on the Rocky Mountain college town after a gunman reportedly killed at least ten people<\/a>, including a police officer, at a local supermarket. CNN<\/a> reported that one law enforcement official said the weapon used was an AR-15-style rifle<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That kind of weapon was at the center of a landmark legal battle between the gun lobby and the city of Boulder after municipal officials in 2018 \u201cpassed two ordinances banning the possession of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines in the wake of the mass shooting\u201d at a school in Parkland, Fla., according to the Denver Post<\/a><\/em>. Colorado has been the site of some of the most high-profile mass shootings in American history, including shootings at Columbine High School<\/a>, Planned Parenthood of Colorado Springs<\/a>, the Aurora Theater<\/a>, and the STEM school in Highlands Ranch<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A federal lawsuit backed by the local chapter of the NRA<\/a> aimed to invalidate Boulder\u2019s local ordinance, and all other potential assault weapon bans in Colorado. At the time, right-wing activist John Caldara<\/a>, who filed the lawsuit, insisted that \u201cwhat Boulder is doing now is putting gun owners back into a closet. And that goes against everything Boulder claims to stand for.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last Thursday, a Colorado judge ruled that a 2003 state law<\/a> \u2014 enacted by a Republican legislature and signed<\/a> by Republican Gov. Bill Owens \u2014 preempts cities and towns from restricting assault weapons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOnly Colorado state (or federal) law can prohibit the possession, sale, and transfer of assault weapons and large capacity magazines,\u201d wrote<\/a> Colorado state judge Andrew Hartman. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2019, Stanford University researchers published a New York Times<\/a><\/em> op-ed<\/a> detailing data showing that the federal assault weapons ban, in place from 1994 to 2004, correlated to a significantly lower rate of gun violence in the country. The research was buttressed by earlier<\/a> academic<\/a> studies<\/a> suggesting that restrictions on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines can reduce gun casualties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Since the federal assault weapons ban expired, states and localities have had to fend for themselves, while the NRA has fought to use state laws to block local communities from more stringently regulating firearms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cToday, almost all states have a firearms preemption law that prohibits localities from regulating firearms in a manner more stringent than state law,\u201d the NRA wrote<\/a> in 2019. \u201cThese laws are vital as they prevent localities from enacting an incomprehensible patchwork of local ordinances. Without these measures unsuspecting gun owners would be forced to forego the exercise of their Second Amendment rights or risk running afoul of convoluted and potentially inaccessible local rules.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In response to the Colorado ruling last week, the NRA published a triumphant article on its website<\/a>, celebrating how the judge\u2019s opinion could make it more difficult for other communities to try to regulate deadly assault weapons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe opinion is also very thoroughly and thoughtfully written, which will make it even harder to overturn, should the city appeal it,\u201d the NRA wrote. \u201cWhile the holding only applies to the Boulder ordinances, the principles behind the ruling will apply to other localities who are considering passing any similar counterproductive ordinances.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The conservative outlet Free Beacon<\/a><\/em> published a report declaring \u201cPreemption winning streak continues for gun advocates.\u201d The piece quoted Caldara insisting: \u201cI was probably the most publicly known criminal in Boulder\u201d for openly flouting the local AR-15 ban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a statement on the judge\u2019s decision on behalf of the gun control group Colorado Ceasefire, Tom Mauser, the father of a Columbine shooting victim, said<\/a>: “This is a bitter disappointment. Assault weapons have been the source of horrendous tragedies here in Colorado and across the nation. Clearly the people of Boulder do not want these weapons of war in their city.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n A year after the 1999 Columbine shooting, Colorado\u2019s then-Republican legislature shielded<\/a> gun manufacturers from lawsuits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2013<\/a>, the Democratic legislature and then-Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper backed modest gun control reforms designed to better regulate firearms in the state. Pro-gun groups promptly mounted<\/a> successful recall campaigns against Colorado lawmakers who backed the measures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As news<\/a> of Monday\u2019s shooting in Boulder was being reported, the NRA tweeted<\/a> out the text of the Second Amendment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, witnesses described their fear and sadness about the normalization of gun violence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt seemed like all of us had imagined we\u2019d be in a situation like this at some point in our lives,\u201d one person who was inside the supermarket told the Denver Post<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another witness told KDVR<\/a>: \u201cPeople my age, in my generation, are used to this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This newsletter relies on readers pitching in to support it. If you like what you just read and want to help expand this kind of journalism, consider becoming a paid subscriber by clicking this link<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Got this email from a friend? Click here to subscribe.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Subscribe now<\/a> Multiple people are gunned down days after the NRA celebrated its successful effort to eliminate the city\u2019s assault weapons ban. David Sirota, Andrew Perez, and Joel Warner March 23, 2021 (The Daily Poster) Source: NRA-ILA website By David Sirota, Andrew Perez, and Joel Warner Last week, the National Rifle Association publicly celebrated its success… Continue reading
\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"