Last Friday, March 15th, after nearly ten hours of testimony, HB19-11477: “Red Flag” Emergency Risk Protection Orders ERPO bill passed out of the Colorado Senate State, Veterans, and Military Affairs committee on a 3-2 party line vote. It will be headed to the Senate floor for a full vote in the coming days.  Right now it is critical we contact our State Senators and ask them to oppose this bill, HB19-1177. You can find contact info here, or use the copy/paste email list provided below. 

During this marathon hearing, we heard testimony after testimony from gun owners discussing everything from personal experiences of domestic violence and stalkers – and fears this law would be used to disarm victims, to recounts of SWAT escalating suicide situations.  Concerns the “mentally ill” label in the bill could be used against those in the LGBTQ community, to sound Constitutional arguments.  The testimony was powerful – and on point.

Bill proponent, Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock gave a bizarre and unraveling testimony which you can watch here.

But besides Spurlock, one of the most alarming testimonies was given by Colorado State Attorney General Phil Weiser.  During his testimony, he nonchalantly admits this bill will be imperfect, that false accusations are just par for the course, and he oddly compares it to copyright infringement claims.  I have no idea how he thinks removing copyrighted material from a website based on false claims is at all the same as confiscating an innocent person’s firearms. But apparently he does. He then goes on to make it clear, should this law pass, sheriffs and law enforcement must enforce it until it’s determined to be unconstitutional in the courts, which would be years. 

Watch the the video below for his testimony highlights. His full testimony can be found here.

And when you’re done watching the video, email and call these State Senators and ask them to vote NO on HB19-1177:

Leroy Garcia
leroy.garcia.senate@state.co.us
303-866-4878

Kerry Donovan
kerry.donovan.senate@state.co.us
303-866-4871

Rachel Zenzinger
senatorrachelz@gmail.com
303-866-4840

Dominick Moreno
dominick.moreno.senate@state.co.us
303-866-4857

And copy/paste this entire email list as well:

jeff.bridges.senate@state.co.us,
lois.court.senate@state.co.us,
jessie.danielson.senate@state.co.us,
kerry.donovan.senate@state.co.us,
stephen.fenberg.senate@state.co.us,
rhonda.fields.senate@state.co.us,
mike.foote.senate@state.co.us,
leroy.garcia.senate@state.co.us,
joannginal@yahoo.com,
julie.gonzales.senate@state.co.us,
pete.lee.senate@state.co.us,
dominick.moreno.senate@state.co.us,
brittany.pettersen.senate@state.co.us,
robert.rodriguez.senate@state.co.us,
tammy.story.senate@state.co.us,
nancy.todd.senate@state.co.us,
angela.williams.senate@state.co.us,
faith.winter.senate@state.co.us,
senatorrachelz@gmail.com,
john.cooke.senate@state.co.us,
don.coram.senate@state.co.us,
larry.crowder.senate@state.co.us,
bob.gardner.senate@state.co.us,
owen.hill.senate@state.co.us,
dennis.hisey.senate@state.co.us,
chris.holbert.senate@state.co.us,
paul.lundeen.senate@state.co.us,
vicki.marble.senate@state.co.us,
kpriola@gmail.com,
bob.rankin.senate@state.co.us,
ray.scott.senate@state.co.us,
senatorsmallwood@gmail.com,
senatorsonnenberg@gmail.com,
jack.tate.senate@state.co.us,
rob.woodward.senate@state.co.us