While anti-gunners’ dreams of an “assault weapons” ban died in a Colorado House committee earlier this month, the Democratic majority in Denver has been much more amenable to a number of other infringements on our right to keep and bear arms, and on Friday Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed four new gun control measures into law.

Second Amendment activists have acted quickly, suing to block at least two of the new laws from being enforced.

Colorado’s governor signed four gun control bills Friday, following the lead of other states struggling to confront a nationwide surge in violent crime and mass shootings, despite a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that expanded Second Amendment rights.

Before the ink was even dry on Gov. Jared Polis’ signature, gun rights groups sued to reverse two of the measures: raising the buying age for any gun from 18 to 21, and establishing a three-day waiting period between the purchase and receipt of a gun. The courts are already weighing lawsuits over such restrictions in other states.

… “Coloradoans deserve to be safe in our communities, in our schools, in our grocery stores, in our nightclubs,” Polis said as he signed the measures in his office while flanked by activists wearing red shirts reading “Moms Demand Action,” students from a Denver high school recently affected by a shooting, and parents of a woman killed in the Aurora theater shooting in 2012.

Yes they do, but the state’s steady encroachment on the right to keep and bear arms has actually had the opposite effect. The state’s first new gun control laws in decades were enacted in 2013 after the Aurora theater shooting; a ban on “large capacity” magazines as well as a “universal” background check mandate. Since then Colorado’s Democratic majority has enacted “red flag” laws, repealed the state’s preemption law and allowing localities to impose their own restrictions, and taken aim at open carry.

If gun control was as effective as Polis and others claim it is, Colorado’s crime rate wouldn’t look like this:

As the Common Sense Institute highlighted last October, while crime is on the rise the number of individuals behind bars or on probation for crimes has plummeted.

More gun control, more crime, but fewer consequences for violent offenders. While Colorado Democrats may be getting high on their own supply of anti-gun legislation, the state’s experience over the past ten years should be a cautionary tale for everyone else.

In addition to the two lawsuits that have been filed, expect the National Shooting Sports Foundation to challenge another of the new laws; this one empowering Coloradans to sue gun makers over the actions of violent criminals. The fourth bill signed by Polis expands the state’s existing red flag law and may also lead to litigation, and it will almost certainly face broad opposition from many Colorado sheriffs and even some local prosecutors.

Colorado Democrats have been trying to ban their way to safety for the past decade, and their efforts have been an unmitigated disaster. Joe Biden’s Justice Department even said earlier this month that the state has the “the highest rate of violent crime victimizations among the 22 most populous states – more than twice the national average.”

As President of the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, Estes Park Police Chief Dave Hayes didn’t need the Department of Justice to tell him crime is up here, but even he was surprised Colorado outranks states like New York and Illinois when it comes to violent crime.

While the data is at least four years old, Hayes says state lawmakers have only weakened many criminal justice statutes since then, including de-criminalizing several drugs, “They are harmful, very addictive drugs that lead to other things.”

Hayes says lawmakers have also reduced penalties for many crimes, which may dissuade victims from reporting. A bill this year would prevent arrests of anyone 12 and under except for murder. Another bill would prevent arrests for lower-level offenses including third-degree assault, fourth-degree arson and trespassing.

“So a person can give you a name and until that court date comes and goes, they can continue the behavior,” says Hayes.

District attorneys are also concerned about the crime report.

“This data shows us it’s a problem that under-reporting violent crime and property crime is a serious problem,” says 18th Judicial District Attorney John Kellner.

He says the question state leaders should be asking is “why?”

“Why are people reluctant to report crimes to the police… to law enforcement?” asked Kellner.

Well, that’s definitely not the question state leaders are asking. Instead, they’re wondering how they far they can curtail the right to keep and bear arms before the courts step in and shut them down. We’ll all soon find out the answer, but as long as the Democrats keep barreling down this dead end road one thing is certain: Colorado’s going to continue to be a dangerous place… not only to live, but to exercise your fundamental right to armed self-defense.