It seems hard to believe, but as you read this we are already about halfway through the 2020 state legislative session. What might be even harder to believe is the extent to which the majority Democrats are twisting the very foundations of the way of life we have come to expect as Coloradans. Virtually every day they are legislating away more and more of our freedoms. Unfortunately, while the following list might seem like something out of George Orwell’s “1984,” the sobering fact is that it is all too real. Sadly, I can’t make this stuff up.

Here is just a small sampling of some of the crazy laws being passed by the majority Democrats while you are hard at work providing for your families:

• Banning plastic bags; the Democrats are pushing a bill that will take from you the choice of using a plastic bag to take your groceries home, or of using a plastic straw in a restaurant. They also don’t want you bringing home your leftovers in Styrofoam containers; those are being outlawed, too.

•Medical Cost Sharing; these cooperative alternatives to Obamacare, which save people 40-60% off their normal monthly health care bills, are working so well the state Democrats decided they had to greatly curtail or even outlaw them. Many of these cooperatives are Christian-based, and the Democrats cannot stand the thought of you making a rational choice over your own health care. Once again, I cannot make this up.

• Electric car subsidies; the Democrats think traditional internal combustion engine vehicles should be legislated out of existence. So they are passing laws to eventually force Coloradans to buy electric vehicles whether you want them.

• Pet stores; yes, not even the local pet store escapes their wrath. A bill was introduced this year that would have prohibited your local pet store from selling you a dog or a cat. The Boulder-Denver radicals aren’t satisfied with just controlling your life, they now want to control how you choose your pet. Talk about a nanny state!

• Unionization of classified state employees; Colorado’s economy is booming. Wages are up, unemployment is down, job growth is at record levels. And yet the Democrats are forcing government workers into collective bargaining at the taxpayer’s expense. This bill alone will cost you, the taxpayer, $8 million. No wonder we can’t find the money for roads and bridges.

• Death penalty repeal; Despite Coloradans strong support for the death penalty — which has only been used once in the last 50 years — the majority Democrats have put the lives of the worst murderers ahead of a fair judicial process. Last week, despite vigorous debate for keeping the death penalty for only the most heinous of crimes, they outlawed it. A first responder murdered in the line of duty, or the victims of a mass shooting, will now be denied even the possibility of this unique measure of justice by a jury. Furthermore you, the citizen, are being denied the opportunity to vote on this important issue. The state Democrats know what is best for the criminals and for you.

To punctuate how ridiculous Democrat one-party rule has gotten, a bill to allow constitutional protections for conducting “basic life functions” (i.e., bodily functions) anywhere in public was introduced: HB 1233. Seriously, I cannot make this up.

I don’t have the space here to tell you of all the other radical ideas they have in store for you. There is more, and worse is yet to come; bills to take away more of your gun rights; to take away elephant rides at the Renaissance Fair; forced retirement savings; government-run health insurance.

And yet, as they seek to criminalize your daily life, they are casting off their responsibility to keep our streets safe; there are bills to reduce sentences for drug crimes, to close private prisons, to disallow arrests in court, and to give a pass to people who skipped their court dates. They even plan to reduce the penalties for assaulting a first responder, making it even harder for our brave men and women in law enforcement to protect themselves.

This is what the new regime in Colorado looks like — the importation of California values and rule by the far-left enclaves in Boulder. Ronald Reagan once said that “freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” We might be in that generation now.

Larry Liston is Statehouse representative for House District 16.

Larry Liston