By Michael Allen
Progressive Democrats during this legislative session are following the same tragic course we’ve seen over the past several years. They are coddling criminals, creating laws that make law-abiding citizens less safe, and attacking the men and women who serve in law enforcement.
It has become clear — public safety has been sold out to the highest bidder, making it more important than ever for Coloradans to reach out to their state representatives and senators before this session ends on May 8.
Your voice must be heard.
The legislature is pushing through HB 24-1292. Proponents call it an “Assault Weapons Ban,” which is intentionally misleading. This bill will prohibit ownership of all sorts of firearms that offer legitimate use as self-defense weapons or as tools for hunting. By design, the bill would not apply to military service members, law-enforcement, or other government agents.
By implication, this bill is just another attempt to target law-abiding citizens while shifting the power differential in favor of violent criminals who routinely ignore laws that prohibit murder, aggravated assault, and aggravated robbery.
The sponsors of this bill forget that the Second Amendment is a cornerstone of our American democracy, which recognizes the inalienable right we all possess to defend ourselves against violent aggressors. The Assault Weapons Ban, if passed and signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis, will give violent offenders absolute power to prey upon victims who will have been stripped of the ability to adequately defend themselves.
The final days of this legislative session have been thrown into complete disarray with the introduction of HB 24-1460, a bill they are calling “Law Enforcement Misconduct.” To be blunt, this bill amounts to the latest blatant and unnecessary attack on law enforcement.
It is sponsored by radical leftist Reps. Leslie Herod, Jennifer Bacon and Chris deGruy Kennedy. It will carry a huge fiscal note, will open law enforcement agencies and District Attorney’s Offices to frivolous lawsuits, and will subject law enforcers to criminal and personal liability. Rep. Julie McCluskie, Colorado House speaker and leader of her caucus, should have never allowed this bill to be introduced. And yet, the past is prologue and crazy ideas reign supreme.
In 2019, HB 19-1263 dramatically decriminalized dangerous drugs such as methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl. That fateful misstep allowed cartels to saturate the illicit drug market with deadly fentanyl and has resulted in the loss of lives for thousands of unsuspecting Coloradans.
And in 2020, two bills made Colorado less safe and more friendly to criminals. The first was SB 20-100, which repealed the death penalty without allowing Coloradans to vote on whether mass murderers should face the ultimate punishment for the evil they visit on innocent victims.
Today, the worst offenders face the exact same level of punishment as defendants convicted of lesser crimes. The second, SB 20-217, the “Police Accountability Bill,” has had a devastating impact on law enforcement agencies across the state. Peace officers now risk personal liability in a dangerous job that few are willing to take on.
Then in 2021, SB 21-124 reduced the punishment for a murderer who kills someone while in the act of committing some other dangerous felony, such as aggravated robbery.
Before this bill was enacted, a killer would face life in prison without parole.
Today, our criminal-friendly Legislature and governor allow these evildoers to face as little as 16 years in prison before being eligible for parole. The value of human life is worth more.
Right now, two bills that were signed into law forbid Colorado sheriffs from working with federal law enforcement agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to arrest and detain criminals who also happen to be illegal immigrants. In 2019, HB 19-1124 took the first step towards barring sheriffs from working with federal partners.
But the Legislature gained more ground in 2023 with the passage of HB 23-1100. That bill plainly restricts sheriffs across the state from involvement in the detention of illegal immigrants at any level. Data shows a clear connection between illegal immigration and the fentanyl epidemic. Cartels are flooding our state and nation with that deadly opioid by running it across our southern border.
And, while our progressive state government has been coddling criminals, it continues to ignore the growing need for resources to address mental health concerns. Mental health issues impact every demographic, yet those in charge of the budget refuse to provide adequate funding to the state hospital system, creating an even bigger threat to public safety. For instance, the waitlist just for competency evaluations has grown to over 390 criminal defendants.
Criminal cases are languishing while victims are forced to wait for the possibility of justice, with no end in sight.
Common sense would tell most of us that those in charge have an agenda that is contrary to the well-being of all Coloradans.
But common sense has been in short supply under the Golden Dome in Denver.
Michael Allen is Colorado’s 4th Judicial District Attorney.
Michael Allen is Colorado’s 4th Judicial District Attorney.