Misinformation doesn’t just go away because it’s a New Year. Support reliable, factual information with a tax-deductible contribution to PolitiFact.
Ten people died in a mass shooting at a King Soopers supermarket in Boulder, Colorado on March 22nd. Police have arrested and charged a 21-year-old man who had committed ten homicide cases.
A screenshot of a tweet shared on social media shortly after the shooting indicated that the assault weapons ban incident related through the city. But it gets some history wrong. « Last week, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled Boulder’s AR-15 ban unconstitutional. There were mass shootings in Boulder today, » the tweet read. “The timing of this is very random to say the least.”
This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation in its newsfeed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
In 2018, the City of Boulder issued a ban on the possession, transfer, or sale of assault weapons and large capacity magazines.
March 12, more As a week before the shooting, Boulder District Court Judge Andrew Hartman ruled the city cannot enforce the ban based on a 2003 law that said local governments cannot ban the possession or sale of firearms. the Post reported.
The city has not announced whether it will appeal Hartman’s verdict, and the case has yet to be brought to the Colorado Supreme Court. If so, « the judges there could for the first time issue a nationwide ruling on whether local governments can pass more restrictive gun laws, » the Post said.
In 2006, the state Supreme Court allowed a ban on Assault weapons in Denver in part because the city’s ban was more than a decade before state law, according to the New York Times. However, that ruling did not set a binding precedent for future cases as the court split 3: 3 on the legality of the Denver ban. That left the lower court’s ruling on the case.
Police have not yet identified the exact weapon used in the supermarket shooting, but the New York Times reported on March 23 that « a police officer from the Bundes has confirmed that the weapon used is a version of an AR-15 rifle « . A police affidavit stated that the suspect had both a rifle and a pistol in the store and that an officer « watched the suspect shoot at him with an assault rifle of unknown make and brand ». The suspect was also found to have purchased a Ruger AR556 pistol on March 16.
The post said the Colorado Supreme Court upheld the AR-15 ban on Boulder a week before a mass shooting in Boulder declared unconstitutional.
The post is partially correct, but contains some important details. A little over a week ago, a district judge ruled that the city’s ban on assault weapons was illegal under a 2003 law, not under the US or Colorado Constitution.
The Colorado Supreme Court has not yet filed the case and the city has not announced whether it will appeal the decision.
The Denver Post, Boulder Shooting: The Latest on King Sooper’s shooting that killed 10 people on March 23, 2021
The Denver Post, Can Colorado Cities Have Their Own Gun Restrictions? A Boulder judge says no on March 18, 2021
The New York Times, A judge recently prevented Boulder from enforcing its offensive weapons ban on March 22, 2021
The New York Times, live updates : Suspect indicted in 10 murders in Boulder, Colorado, shooting, March 23, 2021
In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.
Ref: https://www.politifact.com