Boulder’s assault weapons ban, meant to stop mass shootings, was blocked 10 days before grocery store attack
By Teo Armus
March 23, 2021 at 7:08 a.m. EDT
The city of Boulder, Colo., barred assault weapons in 2018, as a way to prevent mass shootings like the one that killed 17 at a high school in Parkland., Fla., earlier that year.
But 10 days after that ban was blocked in court, the city was rocked by its own tragedy: Ten people, including a Boulder police officer, were killed at a supermarket in the city’s south end on Monday after a gunman opened fire, law enforcement officials said.
As of early Tuesday, police have yet to identify the suspect or release any details about his weapon, how he purchased it or if the ordinance would have prevented him from buying or possessing the weapon within city limits. Police told the Denver Post and CNN that he was reported to have been carrying a rifle.
Yet, for Dawn Reinfeld, co-founder of the Colorado gun violence prevention group Blue Rising, the “appalling” timing of the court decision was hard to ignore.
“We tried to protect our city,” she told The Washington Post. “It’s so tragic to see the legislation struck down, and days later, to have our city experience exactly what we were trying to prevent.”
more:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/03/23/guns-boulder-shooting-assault-weapons-ban/
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