Colorado legislators hear from East High students pressing for action after shooting

Rep. Said Sharbini, D-Thornton, surrounded by students from East High on the second floor of the state Capitol, March 23, 2023.

On the floor of the House Thursday, House Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver, spoke of the need for grieving and healing, adding that Thursday was a day for policymakers to listen. 

She asked that everyone "acknowledge that communities have to face things together that are very painful and very tough. Even though we may have political conversations for decades, today is the day to receive people. To allow people to emote. To allow people to grieve, as the lives of two very special educators were put in jeopardy yesterday and a child did lose his life."

"(Lawmakers) have tremendous power and responsibilities, but again, we need to be able to receive and process," Bacon, a former Denver Public School board member, said. "As the Denver community comes to you not only today and tomorrow, let's be sure also that we not only hug our loved ones, but that we talk to each other as well. ... Please keep the Denver East community in your hearts and your spirits, and let's figure out what we can do as a matter of resources in the immediate to deal with the pain and provide ourselves spaces at another time to talk about next steps." 

To the students, Sen. Rhonda Field, D-Aurora, offered a message of welcome: "The state Capitol is the people's house. It's important that we hear from young people about the concerns they have, about the issues that they're dealing with. We want to hear from you. We want to know what those issues are so that we can take the appropriate action."

Rep. Bob Marshall, D-Highlands Ranch, represents a district that has never before elected a Democrat, and his votes have at times trended conservative. He told Colorado Politics he pledged on the campaign trail not to support legislation that would take firearms away from law-abiding citizens.

However, Marshall was among the Democrats who voted in a House committee Wednesday to send the red flag bill to the full House, where it will be debated on Friday. He said support for that measure, and a vote in favor of the liability bill, does not violate his pledge to his district. 

He called Wednesday's shooting a horrible event and lamented that way too many of them happen: "My Democratic colleagues are bringing forth very good bills in this area and they will get through. It's too late for what's already happened but the future will be brighter."

Sen. Tom Sullivan, D-Aurora, echoed this sentiment, saying that, while the legislature is working to address gun violence, "we're never going to be able to do it fast enough to prevent the things that happened in their building." 

To the East High School students who sat in his office on Thursday, Sullivan offered understanding. Sullivan said he knows exactly what the teens are going through, as his son was killed in a mass shooting at an Aurora movie theater in 2012.

"I was in no shape two days after to come and talk," Sullivan said. "This happens every day and, unfortunately, it's once again in a place we all know. People that we just talked to about this are being impacted again, and that makes it doubly hard to try to have a conversation with them about it. They're looking for answers and this is a long process." 

Rep. Mandy Lindsey, D-Aurora, said she was both happy and sad to see the students.

"It's our responsibility as adults to provide a world they feel safe in," she said. Wednesday's shooting "makes me on fire for the work we have to do here, to move this common sense policy forward, to prevent these tragedies."

Lindsey added that, as a mom of four, she's glad to see them engaging, "but I'm mad and sad that they have to be here, again and again and again."

Republicans focused on the lack of school resource officers, including Denver Public Schools' decision to remove them, and the policy that allowed the student, who had been removed from another school, to attend East.

"Our message is that we stand in solidarity," House Assistant Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, R-Colorado Springs, said. "We mourn and grieve with them and we'll look at all appropriate laws to address the issue."

Would that apply to the red flag legislation?

"I don't have all the facts," she said, "it will be a very robust debate."

Pugliese also questioned why there had not been any school resource officers at the school, which she called a "choice" by the Denver Public Schools board.

"School resource officers were removed from that school and then they put faculty members in charge of patting down that student," said Rep. Ron Weinberg, R-Loveland. "That's horrendous."

He said he would talk to the students, but added that banning guns is not a viable solution.

Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen, R-Monument, looked at the issue more broadly, speaking on the importance of supporting behavioral health and funding education, which he said "helps provide strength in society."

Lundeen said he had conversations with several students Thursday, during which he tried to "engage them in a policy discussion" to determine how legislation can prevent such a tragedy when it was caused by breaking existing laws. 

"They come to the Capitol legitimately wanting to find a legislative solution, and the reality is, it's a broader set of problems. It's a societal problem," Lundeen said. "I'm constantly listening. ... I'd like to think that every conversation has some meaningful engagement in the development of better policy."

Bacon's words resonated with House Minority Leader Mike Lynch, R-Wellington, who told Colorado Politics the heroes were the two men who stopped the shooter.

But he questioned why the student was allowed to be at the school.

"That policy might have costed that kid his life," Lynch said. "When we expel a kid, we need to make sure it's followed with a real expulsion" and not allowing him to go to another school where he puts others in danger.

"Not always do you see really clear policy that has an impact on this," said Lynch, who added that allowing the kid to go to another school surely did not help. More could have been done by the administration of Denver Public Schools to keep these kids safe, Lynch said. 

"Their decision to vilify SROs, to fall for the 'cops are bad' mantra. ... We're seeing the real voice, the parents, who may have been the silent majority," he said, arguing that decision led to the desperation to do anything to keep kids safe.

"It's a tragedy that they're going through this again, and, as a legislator, I can see things that can be done" to slow this down, he said. "It leads to another unfortunate chapter of kids not feeling safe at school, and that has to be the No. 1 priority. ... You can't deal with these other social issues and put that ahead of safety."