Assault Weapons Ban Lifted Days Before Boulder Shooting
The Claim
Boulder, Colorado had a 2-year “assault weapons” ban.
News posted on
Emerging story
On March 23rd, Antonia Okafor Cover, National Spokesperson for Gun Owners of America, tweeted that “Colorado has…Universal background checks, Red Flag Laws, and the City of Boulder had a 2 year ‘assault weapons’ ban”. She added that “They had all of these things in place b4 [the Boulder shooting].”
The tweet received thousands of retweets and many users used it to support an argument that gun control is ineffective.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation found this claim to be misleading. The City of Boulder did not have an assault weapons ban at the time of the Boulder shooting that took the lives of 10 people. It did enforce a ban in 2018, which was lifted days only days before the shooting.
On March 16th, the NRA tweeted that Colorado Judge Andrew Hartman “ruled that the city of Boulder’s ban on commonly-owned rifles (AR-15s) and 10+ round mags was preempted by state law and STRUCK THEM DOWN.
Judge Hartman said, “the Court has determined that only Colorado state (or federal) law can prohibit the possession, sale and transfer of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines.”
According to AP News, Boulder’s assault weapon ban included certain pistols and semi-automatic rifles with pistol grips, folding or telescoping stocks, or protruding grips that allow firearms to be stabilized with the non-trigger hand. The city defined large-capacity magazines as “any ammunition-feeding device with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.”
Boulder’s ban on assault weapons was lifted on March 12th. According to The Guardian, the Boulder shooter purchased an assault weapon on March 16th. Witnesses described the shooter as having a black AR-15-style gun. It has been reported that the purchased gun was a Ruger AR-556 pistol, which looks more like a traditional rifle than a pistol.
