Gun reform topic of town hall

Colorado’s two senators and the congressman who represents Boulder — all three Democrats — are pledging support for universal background checks, a ban on assault-style weapons and other gun control measures in the wake of a mass shooting at a King Soopers that left 10 people dead.

The officials spoke at a virtual town hall Wednesday night about how they would address the aftermath of the shooting and the flood of calls for gun reform.

“I need to say that it doesn’t have to be this way,” said U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse of Lafayette. “All of us should feel safe in our grocery stores, in our schools, in our movie theaters and our communities.

“We hear often that these situations are complex and that no one law would solve terrible tragedies like this one, but that cannot be an excuse for inaction.”

Neguse said he intends to push for change “every single day” that he serves, including enacting universal background checks, closing a federal loophole on background checks and reinstating a ban on assault-style weapons.

Sen. Michael Bennet said he felt ashamed of Washington, D.C.’s political leadership for allowing a generation of children, including his eldest daughter, to grow up in the shadow of gun violence and with a reasonable fear of being killed in public places.

“We are not asking the Congress to show the same level of courage as Officer (Eric) Talley, or the other men and women of law enforcement or grocery store associates who helped people escape,” Bennet said.

”We’re asking our politicians to show just an ounce of courage by doing everything possible to keep weapons of war out of our communities, to pass universal background checks, to limit the size of magazines and address the epidemic crisis of mental health in our country,” he continued.

Bennet said he will “insist” that those issues get a vote on the floor of the Senate.

Sen. John Hickenlooper also said Washington, D.C., needs to act.

“I think it’s clear our nation has a serious, serious problem, a gun violence problem, and we can’t just retreat into partisan corners,” Hickenlooper said. “We’re going to have to put politics aside and figure out how to find some common ground to keep dangerous weapons from falling into the wrong hands.”

Hickenlooper said he thinks “we’ll get there” on universal background checks, although it would be a heavy lift, and that a ban on assault-style weapons will come eventually.

“We know these common sense steps will save lives,” he said.