WESTMINSTER–The Monday, July 22 agenda for the Westminster City Council includes discussion of an “opt-out” ordinance to the new Colorado state law banning the carrying of any firearms in certain areas gun control advocates refer to as “sensitive spaces.”
Monday’s meeting will focus on allowing the carrying of a firearm by concealed handgun permit (CHP) holders in the local government municipal building of Westminster, a home-rule municipality of around 116,000 residents in north-metro Denver.
Senate Bill 24-131, “Prohibiting carrying firearms in sensitive spaces,” was approved by Gov. Jared Polis on May 31, 2024, and has been in effect statewide as of July 1, 2024. The law bans the carrying of guns, either open or concealed, in numerous places such as government buildings, colleges and universities, courthouses, and schools.
The bill also includes a section that allows local Colorado governments to opt-out of the ban if they choose.
As previously reported by Complete Colorado, numerous local government have, or are are working towards opting-out of the law, including Douglas, Logan, Routt, and Weld counties, as well as municipalities such as Palmer Lake and Monument in El Paso County, and Castle Rock in Douglas County.
The ordinance comes at the request of City Councilman David DeMott, a Westminster native, who says that he is not asking for Westminster to be complacent toward gun violence, but rather focus on solutions that will provide effective protection.
“I don’t see how this bill is actually preventing gun violence,” DeMott said, noting that the state law preventing CHP holders from lawfully carrying is not going to prevent violence. DeMott’s concerns are backed up by data compiled by Second Amendment scholar David Kopel showing that concealed carry permit holders are actually more law abiding than the public at large,
“It’s hard for law-abiding citizens to know the law when they go places,” DeMott said in regard to Monday’s discussion.
DeMott says that there are citizens that work at the Westminster Municipal building that will not have the right to protect themselves if the police are not able to respond in time, likening the measure to having an extinguisher available to use in the event of a fire before firefighters can arrive.
Moms Demand Action, an extreme anti-gun rights group funded in part by New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg, is planning to be at Monday’s meeting to push back against the opt-out measure.
DeMott urges that groups such as this, as well as other interested parties, should speak up at the meeting.
“It is really important in a free society for people to talk with their elected officials,” DeMott said, “I hope people participate and I hope they do it civilly.
The Meeting will take place Monday July 22, at 7:00pm at the Westminster City Hall, 4800 W. 92nd Ave., Westminster, CO.