Neguse on Boulder: ‘We must have the willpower to act and to pass meaningful gun reform’

U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, a Lafayette Democrat who represents Vail, issued the following statement Monday night after the murder of 10 people, including a Boulder police officer, at a King Soopers store in Boulder:

Lafayette, CO — Today Congressman Joe Neguse issued the following statement following the shooting at King Soopers in Boulder, Colorado:

“Today’s events are simply devastating. Like my fellow Coloradans, my heart is heavy, in grief and in anguish.  Andrea and I are heartbroken, and we are praying tonight for our entire community in Boulder — for the victims and their families—including a police officer who tragically lost their life in the line of duty— for the survivors, for the frontline grocery store employees, and for the brave first responders and local law enforcement whose heroism truly saved lives. And we offer our heartfelt condolences to the many families mourning their loved ones. The loss of life is truly heartbreaking and unimaginable. 

I’ve lived in Boulder County for nearly two decades. My wife was born in Boulder. And we both know this — our community is strong, it is kind, and it is resilient, and we will come together and support each other during this tragedy. In the difficult days ahead, I will continue to work with law enforcement and state authorities to ensure they have the resources they need, and we stand ready to assist our community in this moment of tremendous sadness. Our office is available to provide resources and answer questions, and we encourage our constituents to utilize the mental health resources available in Boulder County, including those detailed below. You can also learn more about these resources by contacting our office: (303) 335-1045. We are with you as we heal together from this tragedy.

While there is still a lot we do not yet know, one thing is very clear — tragic incidents of gun violence have plagued our country for far too long.

Twenty-one years ago, as a young student in Douglas County, I joined many Coloradans in weeping for the victims of the terrible massacre at Columbine High ten minutes from my high school. Two years ago, I felt the fear that so many Coloradans experienced learning of the shooting at the STEM School in Highlands Ranch, where my niece — a kindergartner — was locked down, as we all wept at the tragic loss of life. And tonight, I weep for the families of my constituents, who have tragically lost their lives in yet another mass shooting.

Enough is enough. 

Americans should feel safe in their grocery stores. They should feel safe in their schools, their movie theaters and in their communities. While Congress dithers on enacting meaningful gun violence prevention measures, Americans — and Coloradans — are being murdered before our very eyes — day after day, year after year.

It doesn’t have to be this way. There are steps we can take — and must take — to protect our community; common-sense, broadly supported proposals that will save lives. If we are truly invested in saving lives, then we must have the willpower to act and to pass meaningful gun reform. The time for inaction is over.” 

The following mental health resources are available for constituents: 

• Boulder County Mental Health Services 
• TRACE Disaster Distress Helpline
• Red Cross Coping Tips
• Spanish Mental Health Resources
• American Psychological Association

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Silt Republican who represents the western two-thirds of Eagle County and most of Colorado’s Western Slope, still had not issued a press release on the mass shooting in Neguse’s district as of 9 a.m. Tuesday morning. Instead, she was criticized nationally for sending out insensitive border policy tweets, followed by the standard “thoughts and prayers” statement after being called out. Later, she sent out a campaign-style email to supporters decrying any attempts at gun-safety legislation by the “radical gun-grabbing left.”

Tuesday afternoon, Boebert tweeted: “[President] Joe Biden has wasted no time politicizing the attack in Boulder yesterday by calling for an assault weapons ban & other infringements on our Second Amendment.”

State senators representing the Boulder area at the Capitol in Denver offered this joint statement:

DENVER, CO –  Following the mass shooting at a King Soopers in Boulder’s Table Mesa neighborhood, senators from the community released the subsequent statement: 

“[Monday] our community suffered a horrifying and excruciating loss. Innocent lives were cut brutally short. Running to grab a carton of milk with their kids, or a soda on a lunch break, they were met with deadly, senseless violence. Violence that has become all too common in America. A country where 100 people are killed every day by guns and yet our federal legislation has remained painfully inadequate. We need fundamental change, or we’ll be back here again and again, in never-ending cycles of unnecessary loss and pain. Our hearts are sickeningly heavy for the families of the victims, and while we send them all our love and support, we also call on our national leaders to do more than sympathize, we need them to act. In the meantime, Colorado will continue to lead by example —passing meaningful gun safety legislation in the hopes that no family has to face this ever again.”

Eileen McCarron, president of Colorado Ceasefire Legislative Action, issued this statement:

This is America.

A country held hostage by a minority of gun loving citizens.

A country where there are enough guns to arm every man, woman and child.
A country where weapons of war are permitted to be privately owned.

A country where the simple act of going to a movie, to school, to church, to the grocery store can be fatal.

Today, in the wake of the killings at the Boulder King Soopers, we once again grieve the tragic loss of life due to gun violence.  We encircle those who have lost a loved one with our thoughts and prayers, but we also rage at the constraints that bind us in this seemingly inescapable cycle of violence and death.

We call on our elected leaders to take action to make Americans safer from gun-wielding citizens.

The U.S. Congress must pass laws to make us safer, including a ban on assault weapons and a law to require universal background checks.  If Republicans in Congress are unwilling to support a modest and overwhelmingly supported law such as universal background checks, then it is clear that eliminating the filibuster is justified.

And the Colorado General Assembly must act, now, to repeal the state pre-emption law, which prohibits communities from making their own residents safer by enacting their own gun restrictions. Only ten days ago, a Boulder judge overturned the city’s 2018 assault weapons ban on pre-emption grounds.

Further, local law enforcement must do more to ensure the Colorado ban on high-capacity magazines is being enforced.

Americans should reclaim their rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness by demanding more from their lawmakers.

Because this is America.