DENVER, the United States, April 30 (Xinhua) -- A battle is brewing in the U.S. state of Colorado as more than half of its 64 counties refused to enforce the state's new gun control bill.
Bill 1177, also known as the Red Flag bill, was approved by the Colorado senate after a razor-close vote of 18-17 this March, and will go into effect in 2020. It allows family members and law enforcement to petition to a court to decide whether a person is an "extreme risk," and if that is the case, the person's weapons will be confiscated for a certain period of time.
Last Thursday, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser traveled into the heart of the Rocky Mountains to tell law enforcement officials he is confident that they will abide by the bill.
"Your job is to protect people and to enforce the law, and the idea that you could pick and choose what laws you will enforce is antithetical to the rule of law," Weiser said.
Weiser's words have met with widespread opposition within the state. Some 34 Colorado counties and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have publicly refused to obey the law.
"We're working on a lawsuit now that we expect to file before the new Red Flag law goes into effect in 2020," El Paso County Sheriff Spokesperson Jacqueline Kirby told Xinhua on Monday.
Besides, Rocky Mountain Gun Owners (RMGO), Colorado's largest gun rights organization and an NGO, will also file a lawsuit against the bill by the end of this week, according to its spokesperson Dudley Brown.
While a number of disgruntled counties are joining forces to stop the bill, some are supporting it.
"Military assault weapons have no place in a civilized society," Pitkin County Sheriff Joe DiSalvo told Xinhua.
Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock is also on board after his friend and Deputy Sheriff Zackari Parrish was shot and killed on New Year's Eve by a man law enforcement knew was in crisis and had guns.
"I do hope we can work together to pass a bill that will help save lives and support mental health in the great state of Colorado," Spurlock said.
"The letter of the law sounds very reasonable ... even to someone who may be pro-gun," Denver blogger Leo Barei said.
It was not the first time that the state witnessed a battle on gun control.
Last week, Colorado's supreme court agreed to hear a case to reverse a 2013 law on magazine limits, triggering a heated debate.
"In all the states we looked at, looking at crime statistics, mass shooting statistics, analyzing all the data, we proved beyond a reasonable doubt that, that (limits on magazines) didn't do anything," RMGO's Brown said.
"We love it when law enforcement has a firearm with a large capacity magazine because they can defend us," Brown posted last Thursday on RMGO's website.
Brown's remark was considered absurd by gun control advocates who have been accusing the U.S. National Rifle Association (NRA) of supporting unrestricted use of guns and defeating gun control politicians.
"The NRA has spent millions opposing sensible gun control measures across the country ... The only way to stop them is to vote their puppets out of office," Sandy Phillips, whose daughter was murdered seven years ago, told Xinhua on Monday.
"The distortion of the facts and level of dishonesty with pro-gun forces and the NRA are appalling," Phillips said.
"Citizens must stop NRA politicians who universally oppose measures to protect the American public," Phillips said.
