New laws make this legislative session significant in terms of firearm regulations
Six gun control bills were passed and signed by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis this legislative session. (Dave Zajac/Record-Journal via AP file)
Gov. Jared Polis on Saturday signed three gun control bills inspired by the Boulder King Soopers shooting into law, making this year’s legislative session the most significant in terms of firearm regulations in Colorado in nearly a decade.
The three bills Polis signed were:
- Senate Bill 256, which will allow local governments, public higher education institutions and special districts to enact gun policies that are stronger than what’s written in state law.
- House Bill 1298, which closes the so-called Charleston loophole by requiring gun dealers to complete a background check on a gun buyer before transferring a weapon. It will also prohibit people from purchasing a gun if they have been convicted of certain misdemeanors within the past five years.
- House Bill 1299, which forms the Office of Gun Violence and Prevention within the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Polis, a Democrat, had already signed into law three other gun control bills passed during this year’s legislative session.
The measures, which were introduced before the mass shooting in March, were:
- House Bill 1106, which starting on July 1 will require Coloradans who own guns to store their weapons in a gun safe or with a trigger or cable lock when the owner knows or should reasonably know that a “juvenile or a resident who is ineligible to possess a firearm can gain access to the firearm.”
- Senate Bill 78, which requires that Colorado owners report a lost or stolen firearm to law enforcement within five days of realizing the weapon is missing. Failing to report a lost or stolen firearm is a civil offense punishable by a $25 fine. A second or subsequent infraction is an unclassified misdemeanor punishable by a maximum fine of $500.
- House Bill 1255, which requires people who are subject to a restraining order because of domestic abuse to submit to a judge, within seven business days, an affidavit including a list of the type and number of firearms they own, as well as the location of those weapons. The legislation is aimed at ensuring those charged with or convicted of domestic abuse relinquish their firearms.
Not since 2013 have Colorado lawmakers passed such a large slate of firearm legislation. That year’s legislative session came on the heels of the 2012 Aurora theater shooting.
