Longmont Firearm Shops Expecting To Feel Ripple Effect From New Gun Control Laws In Nearby Cities
(CBS4) - After council members passed several coordinated gun control measures in some Boulder County cities, gun shops in neighboring areas like Longmont are bracing for a ripple effect.
For six years Marine veteran Mike Morris has been growing his business -- Warriors Revolution Tactical.
"It's been a lot of work and a lot of years put into this," he said.
He has seen a lot during that time, adapting as laws change. But new ordinances in neighboring cities including a ban on assault weapons.
"The majority of what we sell probably falls under their definition of what an assault weapon is," he said.
He says if Longmont were to pass similar city laws, it would be more than his business could handle.
"The concern would be probably that we would have to move. We would have to move out of Boulder County," Morris said.
Other gun shop owners CBS4 interviewed with shared similar feelings and say they are bracing for their own debate.
"Bring in some people that have knowledge on the firearms and not just regurgitate the same thing you're being told by somebody else with an agenda," he said.
In Boulder, where six different gun ordinances were passed Tuesday night, attention has turned to how to respond. And Second Amendment concerns are the focus for The Center to Keep and Bear Arms -- a division of Mountain States Legal Foundation that fought the city's previous gun control ordinances. Cody Wisniewski is the director.
"We based our prior case on federal constitutional violations of the Second Amendment. (The) protected right to keep and bear arms -- that doesn't change, so even if Colorado does or does not have a preemption statute that remains. So we'll look at these ordinances as they affect people's constitutionally protected rights," Wisniewski said.
Morris says if city leaders will listen, he believes they have something to add to the discussion.
"I don't see anyone reaching out asking people that have a background in this stuff to come to the table and maybe talk about what we could do," he said.
Longmont City Council doesn't have anything about gun rights set on a published public meeting agenda. A spokesperson for the city says councilmembers and the mayor do plan to talk about the issue at a pre-session meeting next Tuesday.