Colorado – The 2023 Colorado General Assembly has introduced a slew of gun control bills, including an “Assault Weapons Ban” that bans everything EXCEPT possession on a number of firearms.
Use the links below to email the respective committees about each bill.
Here’s what you need to know and how you can take action:
SB23-168: Gun Violence Victims’ Access To Judicial System
- Repeals limitations of when a firearm industry member can be sued
- Defines “firearm industry member” as a person who is engaged in the manufacture, distribution, importation, marketing, or wholesale or retail sale of an “industry product”.
- Allows Attorney General to sue “firearm industry members”
- Action must be brought within 5 years
- Goes into effect Oct 1, 2023
*This bill is scheduled for public hearing in Senate Committee Weds 3/8/23 upon adjournment of morning work (approx 10am) EMAIL SENATE COMMITTEE (find instructions to provide public comment during committee hearing below)
SB23-169: Increasing Minimum Age To Purchase and Possess Firearms
- Increases age to purchase or possess a firearm to 21
- Reduces penalty from felony to misdemeanor to sell or transfer firearm to a juvenile
Exceptions:
- Active duty military or peace officer
- Taken hunter safety and purchases a firearm that is not a handgun or semi-automatic centerfire rifle
- Gifts from immediate family members
- Engaging in training
- Under supervision of parents or guardians
- Violation is a class 2 misdemeanor for the first offense, and a class 5 felony for subsequent offenses
- Goes into effect Oct 1, 2023
*This bill is scheduled for public hearing in Senate Committee Weds 3/8/23 upon adjournment of morning work (approx 10am) EMAIL SENATE COMMITTEE (find instructions to provide public comment during committee hearing below)
SB23-170: Extreme Risk Protection Order Petitions (Red Flag)
- Expands who can request a ERPO to include licensed medical care providers, licensed mental health-care providers, licensed educators, and district attorneys
- Requires the office of gun violence prevention to expend funds annually on a public education campaign regarding the availability of, and the process for requesting, an extreme risk protection order.
*This bill is scheduled for public hearing in Senate Committee Weds 3/8/23 upon adjournment of morning work (approx 10am) EMAIL SENATE COMMITTEE (find instructions to provide public comment during committee hearing below)
HB23-1230: Prohibit Assault Weapons In Colorado
- Prohibits a person from manufacturing, importing, purchasing, selling, offering to sell, or transferring ownership of an assault weapon
- Prohibits a person from possessing a rapid-fire trigger activator
- A violation is a class 2 misdemeanor
- Defines assault weapon as:
- Any rifle that has a detachable magazine plus either:
- Barrel Shroud
- Pistol grip
- Adjustable stock
- Flash suppressor
- It would basically ban the sale of all sporting rifles and then some
- Any pistol that has a threaded barrel that allows for the addition of a suppressor would be legal
- Any semi-automatic shotgun with a detachable box magazine or fore end pistol grip.
The prohibition does not apply to:
- A member of the United States armed forces, a peace officer, or other government officer or agent, to the extent that such person is otherwise authorized to acquire or possess an assault weapon and does so while acting within the scope of the person’s duties;
- The manufacture, sale, or transfer of an assault weapon by a licensed firearms manufacturer to any branch of the United States armed forces or to an entity that employs peace officers for use by that agency or its employees;
- The sale or transfer of an assault weapon to a licensed firearms dealer or gunsmith for the purposes of maintenance, repair, or modification, and the subsequent return of the assault weapon to the lawful owner;
- Any federal, state, or local historical society, museum, or institutional collection that is open to the public, provided that the assault weapon is securely housed and unloaded;
- A forensic laboratory, or any authorized agent or employee of the laboratory, for use exclusively in the course and scope of authorized activities;
- An entity that operates an armored vehicle business and an authorized employee of such entity while in the course and scope of employment;
- A licensed gun dealer who has remaining inventory of assault weapons as of July 1, 2023, and sells or transfers the remaining inventory only to a non-Colorado resident and the sale or transfer takes place out-of-state; or
- A peace officer.
*This bill has not yet been scheduled for a public hearing EMAIL HOUSE COMMITTEE
HB23-1165: County Authority To Prohibit Firearms Discharge
- Allows county commissioners to prohibit the discharge of firearms in unincorporated areas.
- To prohibit must have minimum of 30 dwellings per square mile.
- A county ordinance may not prohibit the discharge of firearms in designated areas by peace officers, in indoor shooting galleries in private residences, or at a licensed shooting range
*This bill has passed house chamber with amendments; awaiting Senate schedule EMAIL SENATE COMMITTEE
HB 23-1219: Waiting Period To Deliver A Firearm
- Establishes a waiting period for the delivery of a firearm by a seller to a purchaser.
- Sellers must wait three days or until required background checks are completed, whichever occurs later in time.
- Violations are civil infractions punishable by a fine of $500 for the first offense and ranging from $500 to $5,000 for subsequent offenses.
- Local governments are given authority to establish a waiting period longer than described in the bill.
- Goes into effect Oct 1, 2023
*This bill passed House Committee 3/6/2023; awaiting second hearing in full house chamber CONTACT YOUR HOUSE REPS
The three bills above that are set for Senate Committee Hearings are in the Senate State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs committee at the Colorado State Capitol on Wednesday, March 8th upon adjournment of morning work (approx 10am) in Old Supreme Court Chambers to the right of the elevator on the second floor of the State Capitol. The hearing will go all day so don’t worry about showing up late if needed.
Public testimony/comment is being accepted both in person or remotely via Zoom.
To register for remote testimony visit this link: www2.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2022A/commsumm.nsf/signIn.xsp, at bottom select “remote via Zoom”, select “by committee and hearing item”, select the committee the bill is to be heard in (Senate State, Civic, Military & Veterans Affairs), select date of hearing, select option that includes the bill you would like to testify on, complete registration. To testify on all three bills, you will need to register for each bill individually. You can also submit written testimony via this same link.
To testify in person: Go to the Colorado State Capitol at 200 E Colfax Ave, Denver. If the main north entrance is closed, you may need to use the south entrance through the basement, but the Capitol is open to the public.
Find links to every bill and contact information for your legislators as well as additional Colorado Firearm-Related Legislation on the Legislative Watch Page of our Website
About Rally for our Rights
Rally for our Rights is a non-partisan gun rights advocacy organization that was founded in early 2018. It has quickly become Colorado’s most active Second Amendment group with a focus on frontline activism and community outreach.
