All across the country police departments have sponsored gun buyback programs for the purpose of “getting guns off the streets.” But one buyback event in Boulder, CO had to be canceled because the state’s new gun laws are so strict that the police can’t even navigate the law to sponsor the program.
The event was canceled by Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle, who sadly had to inform the community that Colorado’s new gun laws made it “nearly impossible” to follow the law.
One of the strict new laws that Colorado recently enacted requires a background check for every transfer of a gun. This would include transfers made from private owners to the sheriffs department, even if the guns are going to be destroyed. Sheriff Pelle informed the community that the system simply isn’t set up to be able to conduct so many checks, nor can it work in a remote location outside his offices.
When announcing the cancellation, Sheila Dierks, a disappointed event organizer, said, “Sheriff Pelle has stood strong for this event, has done tremendous work to make it happen and he is as disappointed as we are.”
Citizens that handed in guns were to have received gift cards or tickets to local sporting events. Local students had worked to raise nearly $8,000 to fund the program.
A local artist was to have been awarded the melted down gun parts so she could make a sculpture to help “raise awareness” for gun violence.
The new gun laws have been so unpopular that two Colorado State Senators have been successfully recalled and a special election has been set to replace them. The two Democrat Senators, Senate President John Morse and Senator Angela Giron of Pueblo, both face recall elections now scheduled for September 10.
Additionally, a coalition of some 30 Colorado Sheriffs have banded together to sue the state to have the strict new gun laws nullified or materially altered.
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