I became a firearms instructor not because I’m a gun nut, but from my love for teaching self-defense. Teaching assault survivors martial arts for years provides the opportunity to learn about the nature of violent crime. It’s clear that the Colorado’s approach to public safety isn’t just naïve, it’s dangerous: policy makers are increasingly putting Coloradans at risk.
The recent flurry of gun control measures has made Colorado one of the most restrictive states for firearm ownership in America. Senate Bill 25-003 for example, imposes a three-stage process on every Coloradan who may need to purchase a semiautomatic pistol for self-defense. There is no cap on fees and there is no time frame within which an application must be approved or denied. This will create substantial time and cost barriers for anyone who needs protect themself and their families in case of an emergency.
Empowering criminals
When listening to assault victims’ experiences, a general fact pattern common to most to violent crime begins to emerge: the assailant chooses a location, looks for a target he’ll have an unfair advantage over, then attacks without warning. Often, the event only lasts a few seconds. With women, it can last longer. Within seconds, an innocent person’s life can be permanently damaged not just physically but also psychologically.
Many assume that dealing with violent crime should be a job for law enforcement. This is a mistake. Usually when the police are called, by the time they can get there the assault is either already over or well underway. More importantly, law enforcement is under no obligation to protect you. If they can make it in time, they’ll likely turn into heroes if a crime is thwarted. But if they don’t, they’ll bear no responsibility. This is the reality we’re all living in, whether we realize it or not. And that includes those who are convinced there’s no reason for anyone to own a gun.
The bottom line is this: if you believe an innocent person has the right to defend themself against a violent criminal, then that person must have the ability to deliver an immediate response that stops the attacker right there, on the spot. For many people, especially women, this means using a gun.
It’s easy to get the impression that there’s no reason for anyone to own a firearm. According to the Colorado Department of Public Safety, only 8 of the 64 counties have a violent crime rate above the 2023 national average, and all murders took place within 28% of the counties. In 2024, forty-six counties saw virtually no murders, and twenty-four counties saw less than 100 crime incidents per 100,000. Most people have little, if any firsthand experience with violence, so many believe the costs of gun ownership outweigh the benefits. This too, is a mistake. Violence can and does happen in areas most people believe are completely safe. Just ask State Senator Tom Sullivan.
Wrong approach
Sullivan’s son, Alex, was murdered during the 2012 shooting at the Century 16 Movie Theater in Aurora. Words can’t describe what he must be going through; perhaps Sullivan himself said it best: “It’s as bad as you think it is.” He’s now a leader of the anti-gun movement in the state legislature.
During an interview Sullivan stated, “I’m not just going to shrug my shoulders and say that’s just the cost of freedom, because I don’t believe that. I believe, you know, something can change.”
Here Sullivan reveals two glaring misconceptions about the reality which he’s dealing with. First, his son was not murdered because Americans have the fundamental civil right to self-defense, or “freedom,” as he put it. Nor was he murdered because of the availability of firearms. Alex was killed because a deranged lunatic easily slipped past every law Colorado legislators put in place to stop him from committing that atrocity in the first place.
Secondly, his statement indicates that he believes through the power of legislation we can reshape reality toward a world without violence, where we won’t need to take precautions or be prepared. This denies not only human nature but the nature of law itself. Laws don’t have the ability to stop a determined criminal; they can only punish him after he commits a crime. And no one understands this better than violent offenders, especially mass shooters.
This is why Colorado’s approach to public safety isn’t only naïve, but dangerous. It’s inspiring legislation that ultimately restricts the ability of law-abiding people to defend themselves and renders them more vulnerable to violent criminals. It’s no surprise that Sullivan was the lead sponsor of Senate Bill 3.
Colorado is at a moment where the governor and many in the state legislature share Sullivan’s erroneous worldview. They are increasingly putting their constituents at risk, and it’s time Coloradans give them a reality check.
Jim Neville currently enrolled as a graduate student in economics and applied research at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA. He spent the summer as part of the Future Leaders Program at the Independence Institute, a free market think tank in Denver.
