gazette.com

By The Gazette editorial board For two years running — 2022 and 2023 — Colorado bore the dubious distinction of the nation’s highest auto-theft rate. Coloradans stood a better chance of having to walk home from a dinner date or ride-share to work than did motorists even in California or New York. At root of Colorado’s woes was our state’s notoriously soft-on-crime Legislature. In 2021, lawmakers had reduced a range of criminal penalties to misdemeanors, including for stealing vehicles valued under $2,000. It was practically an invitation to auto theft — and an insult to motorists of modest means. An auto thief was let off with a slap on the wrist for stealing what likely was the only transportation for someone too poor to afford a another vehicle. Under fire for yet again favorin...