Despite a historic crime wave that has left Coloradans awash in surging gun violence and property crimes, Gov. Jared Polis and the hard-left-leaning state legislature have recently enacted laws decriminalizing gun possession by convicted felons, lessening penalties for misuse of firearms, and placing more burdens on law-abiding gun owners.
Aided by the offender-friendly policies implemented by Polis and others over the past several years, Denver and Aurora have seen historic levels of violent crime, the vast majority of which is related to firearms. In 2020, Denver had 95 homicides, 50% more than in 2019 and the highest number in three decades. This year, the homicide pace is even worse. Aurora saw a more than a 45% jump in gun-related homicides from 2019 to 2020. And 2021 is on pace to eclipse that horrible number. There were as many non-fatal shootings in Aurora in the first half of 2021 as there were in all of 2019.
Enter Polis and the progressives with cans of gasoline.
