Colorado Has ‘Universal Background Checks,’ So Why Is Crime Rising?

[txradioguy]

Back in 2013, then-governor John Hickenlooper signed several gun control bills into law, including a ban on magazines over 15-rounds, and a “universal background check” requirement. Six years later, few people have been charged with possessing banned magazines, and background checks haven’t increased either.

One thing that has happened is that crime has gone up across the state, and it’s been a particularly steep increase in the Denver area, and local media are reporting that more children and teens have been shot and killed since January 1, 2018 than in all of 2016, 2016, and 2017 combined.

Prosecutors said 107 teens were charged with gun possession in 2018, compared with 50 in 2015. This year is on pace to equal or surpass last year.

Law enforcement officers, community members and health officials point to a variety of possible reasons for the increase in gun violence against young people. They include changing gang structures, easy access to firearms, violent video games, socioeconomic inequality, hopelessness and an online culture that glorifies gun possession.

Wait, wait, wait. “Easy access to firearms”? How’s that again? Colorado has “universal background check” laws in place, which we’ve been told means that criminals and those who aren’t supposed to have firearms don’t have easy access to guns. Gun control advocates in Colorado claimed back in 2013 that these measures would make the state a safer place:

“I am happy the governor is signing common-sense legislation that reduces gun violence in our communities by keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, domestic violence offenders and the seriously mentally ill,” said Democratic Rep. Rhonda Fields.

<snip>

Five years is a pretty long run and crime in Colorado’s still going in the wrong direction, because gun control advocates got their wish. They managed to put several gun control bills on the books with the promise that they would lead to safer societies, instead of focusing on the relative handful of people who are actually driving the violence. The result? An eight percent increase in violent crime in Denver from 2017 to 2018, and a ten percent rise in the homicide rate.

https://bearingarms.com/cam-e/2019/09/16/colorado-universal-background-checks-crime-rising/

[Applewood]

Uh.....maybe because the criminals buy their guns illegally and don't have to submit to background checks? 

Another argument for why gun control doesn't prevent violent crime.

[txradioguy]

Uh.....maybe because the criminals buy their guns illegally and don't have to submit to background checks? 

Another argument for why gun control doesn't prevent violent crime.

@Applewood another reason is the legalization of pot in the state and the legalization of it for recreational use in Denver and a handful of other cities in the state.  Here in Colorado Springs crime is up as well...it's not just Denver.

The Universal Background Checks implemented here in the state not only have failed to stop gun violence...but it's slowed down the process at times to a standstill while the second check from the Colorado Bureau of Investigations is done.

It's gotten to the point that at least one of the Post/Base Exchanges here has put out a notice they won't start any gun purchases after 4:30 pm during the week (the gun department normally closes at 6) because the CBI background check is taking so long they can't guarantee the customer completing their purchase on the day they come in if it's after 4:30.

[Bigun]

Error 404 (Not Found)!!1

[txradioguy]

Error 404 (Not Found)!!1

 

[Mod1]

Sorry for moving the thread, trg. My error.

[txradioguy]

Sorry for moving the thread, trg. My error.

It's all good.  We're all human...except for @MOD8

[Smokin Joe]

@txradioguy
But that is the point. Wherever this sort of nonsense has been tried, it hasn't made a difference or the effects have been negative.

Heck, estimates say that half the pot in the state is untaxed ('bootlegged') so that isn't keeping the government rolling in the revenue it expected, and all the problems normally associated with extensive drug use are popping up.

But places which implement policies like these serve as a warning for those who will hear: More isn't better, if it wasn't going to work in the first place. No reason for the rest of the States to adopt policies which have, to put it simply, failed to produce the effect that was predicted.

[verga]

Uh.....maybe because the criminals buy their guns illegally and don't have to submit to background checks? 

Another argument for why gun control doesn't prevent violent crime.

QFT