I am an unaffiliated voter and of all the anti-2nd Amendment legislative bills introduced this year, HB23-1230 is the worst of them all. Like its sister bills, this one is squarely aimed at all the people of Colorado as seen in the bill’s text, “Assault weapons in civilian hands endanger Colorado’s streets.” (Note, it does not say, “criminal hands.”)

I did not serve in our nation’s military for over two decades so that members of the Colorado Legislature could infringe on the rights granted to me under the U.S. Constitution. The bill text includes a safety clause that states the need for immediate preservation of public peace, health and safety. However, Colorado public health statistics for 2021, record that there were 912 deaths from fentanyl and 274 from homicide by firearm.

Yet, the Legislature is maniacally focused on diminishing our 2nd Amendment rights, and not a drug that takes almost four times as many lives. In an honest moment, I think the Legislature would have to acknowledge that firearms are not the issue, but the society that we have created.

Vickie Deal

Bayfield