BREAKING: Multiple Gun Control Bills Head To CO Governor’s Desk

BREAKING: Multiple Gun Control Bills Head To CO Governor's Desk

It didn’t take long for gun control extremists in the Colorado State Legislature to gut the Second Amendment this year – 111 days to be exact. Three more gun control bills are now headed to Governor Jared Polis’ desk for final signature. This is on top of two other gun control bills he’s already signed this legislative session, which went into full swing Feb 16, 2021 and is expected to end no later than June 12, 2021.

Here’s what is heading to the governor

SB21-256 Local Regulation Of Firearms

• Repeals Colorado’s 2003 Firearm Preemption Law and replaces it with language that allows localities and municipalities to create their own firearm laws as long as they are MORE restrictive than state law.
• This bill would allow for any county or municipality to ban the possession, sale, or transfer of a firearm, ammunition or firearm accessory within their jurisdiction; and would allow any county, municipality, special district, or college campus to ban concealed carry. For reference there are 217 municipalities, 64 counties, 2,800 special districts, and 62 college campuses.
• Bill goes into effect upon Governor’s signature. With the passage of this bill, the Second Amendment fight will now move from the State Capitol in Denver to your backyard.

Contact Governor Jared Polis and ask he veto this very dangerous bill: governorpolis@state.co.us / (303) 866-2885

HB21-1298 Expand Firearm Background Check Requirements

• Adds 11 misdemeanors to the list of background check disqualifiers, prohibiting purchase and possession for 5 years from date of conviction. This bill does work retroactively so anyone who has been convicted of one of these 11 misdemeanors in the past five years will now be prohibited persons.
• Removes the option for FFLs to transfer a firearm to new owner if background check is formally delayed for more than 3 days.
• Extends the time agencies have to review a background check denial from 30 days to 60 days, and allows for indefinite denial without disposition in certain instances.
• Bill goes into effect upon Governor’s signature.

Contact Governor Jared Polis and ask he veto this bill: governorpolis@state.co.us / (303) 866-2885

HB21-1299 Office Of Gun Violence Prevention

• Creates a new entity within Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDHPE) called the Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
• This office will be asked to “…increase the awareness of, and educate the general public about, state and federal laws and existing resources relating to gun-violence prevention.” That includes how to safely store guns, how to report a lost or stolen weapon, how to access mental health care and how to utilize Colorado’s Red Flag Law. They will also be tasked with so-called “evidence based” data collection.
• The office will be responsible for distributing grants to non-profit agencies and groups who will work within communities to implement “evidence based” gun safety action based on their “evidence based” data collection.
• Democrats rejected amendments that would have prevented these grants from going to groups who involve themselves in electoral politics, such as Moms Demand Action, because taxpayers should not be funding their push to elect so-called “Gun Sense Candidates”.
• The office will also track and publish what local firearm laws are in place across the state, as they assumed SB21-256 would pass when writing this bill. They are requesting $3 million dollars for fiscal year 2021-2022. 

Contact Governor Jared Polis and ask he veto this bill: governorpolis@state.co.us / (303) 866-2885

Here’s what’s already been signed

HB21-1106 Mandatory Safe Storage of Firearms

• Requires firearms be “safely stored” in homes where children or prohibited persons could gain access. 
• Exceptions are if the firearm is being carried on body or within such close proximity it is readily available as if it was being carried on body.
• Acceptable safe storage techniques include trigger locks, gun safes, bio-metric triggers, or a container that appears locked (yes, it really says that).
• Failure to comply is a Class 2 misdemeanor.
• Law takes effect July 1, 2021.

 

SB21-078 Mandatory Reporting of Lost and Stolen Guns

• Requires a person who discovers a firearm lost or stolen to report it to law enforcement within 5 days.
• Failure to comply is a $25 civil infraction.
• Bill was amended to give immunity to anyone who violated the safe storage law and had their firearm lost or stolen.
• Law goes into effect 90 days after adjournment of 2021 Colorado General Assembly (sometime in September 2021).

What can you do now?  Become a watchdog in your own community.  Pay attention to your county commissioners, city/town council, local colleges and universities, and so on. Alert us if anything comes on your radar. If you’re interested in organizing within college campuses, please also reach out. That fight is going to be immediate.

 


Your donations are needed to help keep Rally for our Rights going and growing!  This year has already been brutal for gun owners and it’s just getting started. Make a contribution today!

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SPEAK UP! OPPOSE Colorado Gun Control So Extreme It Could Ban Firearm Possession In YOUR Community

gun control bills colorado

Take Action NOW! 

Please consider providing public comment/testimony during the hearings! This can be done either in person or remotely. If you are unable to provide public comment (and even if you do) please contact each member of the committees and ask they vote NO on these bills!

SB21-256 Local Regulation Of Firearms

• Repeals Colorado’s 2003 Firearm Preemption Law and replaces it with language that allows localities and municipalities to create their own firearm laws as long as they are not LESS restrictive than state law.
• This bill would allow for any county or municipality to ban the possession, sale, or transfer of a firearm or firearm accessory within their jurisdiction; and would allow any county, municipality, special district, or college campus to ban concealed carry.

House State, Civic, Military & Veterans Affairs Committee Hearing on SB21-256
Monday, May 24
1:30pm
(Note: Four bills will be heard in this same committee. SB21-256 is the fourth bill to be heard.)

Testify in person:
Colorado State Capitol
LSB-A
Denver, CO

Testify via WebEx:
Click here to register
(If you need instructions on how to register via WebEx or what to expect testifying in person, please visit our Legislative Watch page: www.rallyforourrights.com/legislative-watch)

Passed Senate Chamber on May 18, 2021.

HB21-1298 Expand Firearm Background Check Requirements

• Adds 11 misdemeanors to the list of background check disqualifiers.
• Removes the option for FFLs to transfer a firearm to new owner if background check is formally delayed for more than 3 days.
• Extends the time agencies have to review a background check denial from 30 days to 60 days, and allows for indefinite denial without disposition in certain instances.

Senate State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee Hearing on HB21-1298
Tuesday, May 25
2:00pm
(Note: Eight bills will be heard in this same committee. HB21-1298 is the fifth bill to be heard.)

Testify in person:
Colorado State Capitol
Old Supreme Court
Denver, CO

Testify via WebEx:
Click here to register
(If you need instructions on how to register via WebEx or what to expect testifying in person, please visit our Legislative Watch page: www.rallyforourrights.com/legislative-watch)

Passed House Chamber on May 17, 2021.

HB21-1299 Office Of Gun Violence Prevention

• Creates a new entity within Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDHPE) called the Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
• This office will be asked to “…increase the awareness of, and educate the general public about, state and federal laws and existing resources relating to gun-violence prevention.” That includes how to safely store guns, how to report a lost or stolen weapon, how to access mental health care and how to utilize Colorado’s Red Flag Law. They will also be tasked with so-called “evidence based” data collection.
• The office will also track and publish what local firearm laws are in place across the state, as they assume SB21-256 will pass (read below about this atrocious bill). They are requesting $3 million dollars for fiscal year 2021-2022.

Senate State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee Hearing on HB21-1298
Tuesday, May 25
2:00pm
(Note: Eight bills will be heard in this same committee. HB21-1299 is the seventh bill to be heard.)

Testify in person:
Colorado State Capitol
Old Supreme Court
Denver, CO

Testify via WebEx:
Click here to register
(If you need instructions on how to register via WebEx or what to expect testifying in person, please visit our Legislative Watch page: www.rallyforourrights.com/legislative-watch)

Passed House Chamber on May 17, 2021.

 


Your donations are needed to help keep Rally for our Rights going and growing!  This year is already looking to be brutal for gun owners and will be keeping us busy. Make a contribution today!

Donate here or
click the donate button below:
www.rallyforourrights.com/donate

* Contributions are not tax deductible

Questions Everyone Should Be Asking About Red Flag Emergency Risk Protection ERPO Gun Laws : Rally for our Rights Colorado

Fast Tracked Gun Control Bills In Colorado Make FIVE For 2021 Legislative Session

Want the Tl;dr version of the three gun control bills Colorado just introduced? Scroll down to below the graph.

Colorado tends to fly fairly under the radar when it comes to national chatter about gun control. A very libertarian state where guns and weed are common topics of conversation, the last time a major push for gun control took place was in 2013 when expanded background checks and a ban on so-called high capacity magazines passed.  That legislation triggered a recall effort that unseated three Democrat legislators and flipped the majority to Republican control in the 2014 general election.

Since that time the only major piece of gun control legislation that has ended up with the governor’s signature was the passage of a Red Flag Extreme Risk Protection Order law in 2019 after similar legislation failed the year prior.  The 2020 legislative session was a total meltdown due to COVID and the blessing out of that was gun control was dropped from the agenda. Enter 2021 and the gun control extremists are more motivated than ever to pass more ineffective laws that will do nothing to reduce firearm crime and suicide.  Note the chart below shows exactly how the laws Colorado has already passed have had the exact opposite effect than promised. The longer they continue to misdiagnose and mistreat this problem, the longer it will persist.

Already in the first 60 days of the 2021 legislative session, the governor has signed two pieces of gun control: SB21-078 Mandatory Reporting of Lost and Stolen Firearms, and HB21-1106 Mandatory Safe Storage of Firearms. Both of these bills are so poorly written it’s glaringly obvious no one who knows anything about guns even helped to write them as they are full of loopholes. And now, on the tail of the Boulder King Soopers shooting, virtue signaling Democrats have wasted no time exploiting the horrific murders of innocent people by pushing for new laws that they even admit would have done nothing to stop the shooter, but without a doubt make sure it’s harder for law abiding citizens to protect themselves from the evil we continue to face.

Three Gun Control Bills Introduced

On April 29, 2021 a package of three gun control bills were introduced. These bills are being fast tracked, going from committee to debate in the House Chamber on the same day.  Ideas so “good” they have to try to hide to proceedings from the public. Here’s the run down of each:

HB21-1298 Expand Firearm Transfer Background Check Requirements

The 2013 background check law already extended the current federal background check requirements to private sales and transfers as well as expanded prohibition to include mental health disqualifiers, dating partners who commit domestic violence, and more.  To purchase a firearm in Colorado, the buyer must pass both a NICS background check and a CBI background check.

This new bill would expand upon that even more to include what they consider “Violent Misdemeanors”, with those convicted becoming a prohibited person for 5 years.  Of course they always have to go big and include simple harassment (say you caught someone sleeping with your wife and you yelled at them – that’s harassment in Colorado) with more heinous crimes like sexual assault and child abuse. But here’s the kicker – of the list of new 11 qualifying misdemeanors, all but two are a Misdemeanor 3. Why does this matter?  Because when form 4473 is completed to submit to a background check, question 21(c) is asked: “Have you ever been convicted in any court, including a military court, of a felony, or any other crime for which the judge could have imprisoned you for more than one year, even if you received a shorter sentence including probation?” A yes answer on this question is an automatic disqualifier. And both Misdemeanors 1 and 2 carry a maximum penalty of 12 month or more in prison. Misdemeanor 3 carries a maximum of 6 months.

For all my researchers, here are the crimes they are adding, followed by their Colorado Revised Statute (C.R.S.) number, and what level misdemeanor they fall into:

• Assault Third Degree: 18-3-204 – M1
• Menacing: 18-3-206 – M3
• Sexual Assault: 18-3-402 (1)(e) – M1
• Child Abuse: 18-6-401 – M1 7a(V); M2 7b(VI); M2 7b(I); M3 7b(II)
• Violation of Protection Order: 18-6-803.5 – M2 with no prior violations, M1 with prior violations
• Crime Against At Risk Person: 18-6.5-103 – M1
• Harassment: 18-9-111 (1)(a) – M3; M1 if pursuant to 18-9-121(5)(a)&(b)
• Bias Motivated Crime: 18-9-121 – M1
• Cruelty to Animals: 18-9-202 – M1
• Possession of an Illegal Weapon: 18-12-102 – M1
• Unlawfully providing a firearm, other than a handgun, to a juvenile: 18-12-108.7 (3) – M1

This is the only law they claim would have stopped the Boulder shooter, as he bought his firearm legally several days before committing his massacre AND two years prior had been convicted of Third Degree Assault, a M1 that carried up to 18 months in prison. But as I previously mentioned…wouldn’t he already be prohibited based on question 21(c) of his 4473? Why isn’t the Boulder County DA charging him with lying on that form? But it also points to another issue that is never addressed – these background checks systems are only as good as the data put into them.

HB21-1298 also closes what the gun control extremists like to call “The Charleston Loophole”.  This so-called loophole allows a FFL to transfer the firearm to the new owner without a background check if the background check is formally delayed for more than 3 days. First, they love to call it the Charleston Loophole so they can exploit more tragedy and ignore the fact the police and FBI knew the Charleston Church Shooter had obtained a firearm when he was prohibited and they did absolutely nothing about it. 6 months later it was used to take lives of innocent people. But giving those same agencies more authority is supposed to fix the problem. And second, FFLs in Colorado don’t transfer guns to those who don’t pass background checks. Call around and ask. There is no shortage of customers who will pass background checks to buy that gun. Additionally, this bill extends the time agencies have to review a background check denial from 30 days to 60 days, and allows for indefinite denial without disposition in certain instances.

PLEASE CONTACT YOUR STATE HOUSE REPS AND TELL THEM TO VOTE NO ON THIS BILL! 

If you would like to go a step further and email every member of the Colorado House of Representatives (like the gun grabbers do), we’ve divided them up so you can easily send three emails by clicking the links below and connect with every House Rep across the state. Remember, this includes every State House Rep and some are on your side, but they still need to hear from you so they know how strong the opposition is to these bills!

OPPOSE HB21-1298: (even more) Expanded Firearm Background Checks

CLICK HERE TO EMAIL LAWMAKER GROUP #1
CLICK HERE TO EMAIL LAWMAKER GROUP #2
CLICK HERE TO EMAIL LAWMAKER GROUP #3

 

HB21-1299 Office Of Gun Violence Prevention

This bill creates a new entity within Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDHPE) called the Office of Gun Violence Prevention. Yes, these are the same unelected bureaucrats who have handled COVID in Colorado for the past year. This new entity would have a director and at minimum two full time employees. The responsibilities of this office will be to “…increase the awareness of, and educate the general public about, state and federal laws and existing resources relating to gun-violence prevention.” That includes how to safely store guns, how to report a lost or stolen weapon, how to access mental health care and how to utilize Colorado’s Red Flag Law. This would be done via campaigns using television, radio, internet, direct mail, etc.  The office will also be tasked with collecting “evidence based” gun violence data and providing grants to those wishing to promote gun safety in the community – but again, only those with “evidence based” solutions.  The office will also track and publish what local firearm laws are in place across the state, as they assume SB21-256 will pass (read below about this atrocious bill). They are requesting $3 million dollars for fiscal year 2021-2022.

PLEASE CONTACT YOUR STATE HOUSE REPS AND TELL THEM TO VOTE NO ON THIS BILL! 

If you would like to go a step further and email every member of the Colorado House of Representatives (like the gun grabbers do), we’ve divided them up so you can easily send three emails by clicking the links below and connect with every House Rep across the state. Remember, this includes every State House Rep and some are on your side, but they still need to hear from you so they know how strong the opposition is to these bills!

OPPOSE HB21-1299:  Creates Office of Gun Violence

CLICK HERE TO EMAIL LAWMAKER GROUP #1
CLICK HERE TO EMAIL LAWMAKER GROUP #2
CLICK HERE TO EMAIL LAWMAKER GROUP #3

A few other states have similar offices of gun violence prevention. Three of the most prominent such efforts are New York City Office of Gun Violence Prevention, Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence, and Illinois Gun Violence Prevention Coalition.

What have been the results?

New York City: Since the creation of the New York City Office of Gun Violence Prevention, the city has gone from being one of the safest urban centers in the country to a return of the Death Wish years. In 2020, shootings increased 97% percent and homicides 44%

Maryland: Baltimore remains one of the most dangerous cities in America. In 2020, compared to Denver which documented 60 gun homicides, Baltimore recorded 298. More people in Baltimore were murdered with guns than in the entire state of Colorado.

Illinois: In 2020, Chicago documented 719 gun homicides, an increase of 55% from 2019. Chicago is the murder capital of the US.

SB21-256 Local Regulation Of Firearms

This bill would essentially repeal and replace the Firearm Preemption Law that has been a cornerstone of gun rights here in Colorado since 2003.  It’s what got Boulder’s assault weapon ban overturned – although even the sponsors of this bill have said their ban wouldn’t have stopped the Boulder shooter (and newsflash for them, bans don’t stop murderers). Currently localities and municipalities are barred from creating their own gun laws that are more strict (or less strict) than what is current state law.  This is because it is unreasonable to expect firearm owners to know hundreds of different laws as they travel over imaginary county and city lines across Colorado, and anything otherwise would create a whole new class of innocent criminals.

SB21-256 repeals that and replaces it with language allowing localities and municipalities to create their own gun laws  BUT only if they are more strict than current state law, “…local government may enact an ordinance, regulation, or other law governing or prohibiting the sale, purchase, transfer or possession of a firearm, ammunition, or firearm component or accessory that a person may lawfully sell, purchase, transfer, or possess under state or federal law.”

It also gives counties, municipalities, special districts and colleges the ability for their governing bodies to prohibit conceal carry, “…a local government, including a special district, or the governing board of an institution of higher education many enact an ordinance, resolution, rule, or other regulation that prohibits a permittee from carrying a concealed handgun in a building or specific area within the local government’s or governing board’s jurisdiction.”

PLEASE CONTACT YOUR STATE HOUSE REPS AND TELL THEM TO VOTE NO ON THIS BILL! 

If you would like to go a step further and email every member of the Colorado State Senate (like the gun grabbers do), we’ve provided a link below. By clicking the link below you can connect with every State Senator across the Colorado. Remember, this includes every State Senator and some are on your side, but they still need to hear from you so they know how strong the opposition is to these bills!

OPPOSE SB21-256: Local Regulation of Firearms

CLICK HERE TO EMAIL EVERY STATE SENATOR

 

Two other bills we were expecting to see seem to have received the ax this year. Those would be an Assault Weapons Ban and Mandatory Waiting Periods.  You can follow all Colorado gun bills as they make their way through both the house and senate chambers on our Legislative Watch page.

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