On Aug. 1, Senate Bill 25-003 will finally go into effect, more than a year after it was signed into law.

The delay between the bill’s signing and implementation was made at the request of Gov. Jared Polis and his staff. During debate, we were assured that the changes they requested could be successfully implemented before the law took effect. Those assurances were central to moving the bill forward.

Over the past year, however, I have not had a single conversation with Polis or his staff about the implementation process. I have not been asked for input, briefed on progress, or consulted on whether additional legislation might be needed to address concerns. I accepted their assurances during the debate in good faith and expected that commitment to continue after the bill became law.

Instead, my office has been flooded with emails and phone calls from opponents of the legislation expressing anger and frustration over what they believe will happen after Aug. 1.

Much of that criticism has been directed at the bill’s sponsors. If there are concerns about the permit-to-purchase provisions that were added to the legislation, those concerns should be directed to those who insisted those changes be made — not to the sponsors of the bill as it was originally written and introduced.

Today marks 730 Fridays since a gunman walked into the Century 16 Theater in Aurora carrying a shotgun, a handgun, and a Smith & Wesson M&P15 Sport equipped with a 100-round drum magazine. He wore body armor, threw smoke canisters into a crowded theater, carried multiple high-capacity magazines with hundreds of additional rounds of ammunition, and brought handcuffs to lock the theater doors. His intent was clear: to kill as many innocent people as possible.

Twelve people were murdered that night, including my son, Alex, who was celebrating his 27th birthday. Seventy others were wounded. The killer was captured, convicted, and sentenced to 12 consecutive life sentences plus more than 4,000 additional years in prison.

The following year, the Colorado General Assembly passed a law prohibiting the sale of high-capacity magazines holding more than 15 rounds.

Twelve years later, those magazines continue to be sold throughout Colorado. Despite the best intentions of lawmakers, enforcement has been inconsistent, and these devices —which put the “mass” into mass shootings — remain readily available. We saw all this again during the Boulder King Soopers shooting, where nine innocent people and a brave police officer were killed.

SB25-003 was originally written to address that reality. The legislation required that assault-style weapons sold in Colorado be equipped with fixed magazines, effectively making the future sale of high-capacity detachable magazines obsolete. Firearms would still function, but they would have to be loaded manually rather than through detachable high-capacity magazines.

That was the bill that the sponsors introduced.

That was the bill that our caucus discussed.

That was the bill that earned more than 18 Senate sponsors and more than 33 House sponsors.

That was the bill that had the votes to pass both chambers.

After clearing committee and just hours before debate on the Senate floor, the Governor’s office requested significant changes.

Debate was delayed while negotiations took place. The Governor’s staff insisted on adding a permit-to-purchase system. I made clear during third reading in the Senate that this was not the legislation I had originally proposed nor discussed with my caucus. Ultimately, I agreed to those changes because I believed they could strengthen Colorado’s efforts to prevent gun violence, and because I was assured the implementation challenges would be resolved before the law took effect.

That brings us to today.

For more than a decade, I have worked on policies to reduce gun violence in Colorado. I believe those efforts have saved lives. More importantly, I hope families who experience the unimaginable loss that mine has know there is someone in public office who understands their pain and will continue fighting to prevent others from enduring it.

I remain willing to work with anyone — regardless of political party or position on these issues — who wants to have an honest conversation about how we can make our communities safer. Unfortunately, too often these debates become “us versus them” instead of asking the question that truly matters: What can we do together to save lives?

I am writing this on the 14th anniversary of my son Alex’s murder. I hope your July 20 is better than mine.

Until next time, take care of yourselves and each other.

Democrat Tom Sullivan represents state Senate District 41.

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