After the Democratic Party made history by getting the largest majority in the state legislature, one thing they promised during the 2023 legislative session was to crack down on guns. Last April, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed a number of bills drafted by state lawmakers aimed at making firearms harder to purchase with intentions to curb gun violence.
When the bills were on the floor for debate, the Colorado House Democrats even invoked a special rule to limit debate on all of the gun control legislation so that they could pass three bills in March. The move saw backlash from state Republicans who said that they didn’t get a fair chance to defend the Second Amendment. “When you stop the other side from discussing issues, it becomes about politics, not policy,” Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Fort Lupton, was quoted as saying by Colorado House Republicans on social media.
Bill to Raise the Minimum Age Requirement for Gun Possession Awaits Governor’s Signature
One bill that was signed by the governor makes it illegal for people under the age of 21 to possess or purchase a firearm. However, Senate Bill 23-169 does have a few exceptions when someone under the age of 21 can possess a firearm.
Prior to the bill’s passage, Colorado did not have a law that states how old a person must be to purchase or possess a firearm, so the federal law is what has been used. According to federal law, a person must be 18 to purchase/possess a rifle and 21 to purchase/possess a handgun, but states can put further restrictions on age requirements.
The new law will change the age requirement in the state and make it a Class 2 misdemeanor for anyone under 21 possessing guns for the first offense and a Class 5 felony for second or subsequent offenses. The law also makes it a Class 4 felony for anyone to give or sell a gun to someone under 21 unless the person is a member of the U.S. armed forces or a peace officer.
The bill does include a few other exceptions making it legal for a person to possess a firearm other than the exemption for military and law enforcement personnel. For example, people under 21 can possess a gun for the purpose of attending a hunter’s safety course, hunting as allowed by law, target shooting or participating in training with someone over 25 years old.
There is also an exception allowing those under 21 to possess a firearm if they are participating in an accredited gunsmithing course, or if they are transporting an unloaded firearm for any of the above-mentioned reasons. It will also be legal for people under 21 to possess a gun if they are at least 18 in 2023 when/if the bill gets enacted.
Organizations Speak Out in Favor of Gun Control Bills After School Shootings
According to Denver 7, the recent battle against guns marks the second time in recent years a large amount of gun reform bills were proposed by the state legislature. In 2021 after the mass shooting at a grocery store in Boulder took place, lawmakers also passed several bills related to gun reform. A handful of groups and organizations across the state have used recent shootings like the one at Denver East High School in March as reasons why more control laws are needed.
For instance, groups like Everytown for Gun Safety have urged legislators to vote yes on all of the gun legislation bills, and Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action have conducted protests and shown up at the state capitol to testify in favor of the new gun reform bills.
According to the Moms Demand Action website, Denver East High School has faced the shootings of two students, the death of a classmate, multiple shooting threats, lockdowns, and a swatting incident just this school year alone.
“Once again communities across Colorado are reeling from the trauma of gun violence,” said Abbey Winter, a volunteer with the Colorado chapter of Moms Demand Action. “No other child should experience an active shooter situation in their classroom, let alone multiple times a year. More than ever, it is imperative lawmakers and Governor Polis move with urgency and pass these life-saving bills. We will continue to work with our partners in the legislature to finish the job and get these policies across the finish line because that is how we honor survivors with action.”
“This is the reality of being young in America: sitting through a shooting and waiting for information just hours before you’re scheduled to testify in support of gun safety bills,” said Gracie Taub, a volunteer with Students Demand Action in Colorado and co-lead for Denver East High School Students Demand Action. “Our school experience should not be completely shaped by gun violence, and every single incident is traumatizing for our entire community. We are calling on lawmakers to meet this moment with the urgency it needs — we can’t sit around waiting for another tragedy to happen.”
Republicans and Others Say the Bill Goes Too Far in Restricting Gun Ownership Rights
On the other side, groups like the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Sportsmen’s Alliance have spoken against the bill and said that it violates the Second Amendment rights of citizens between the ages of 18 and 20. Colorado Senate Republicans also fought against the bill when it was up for debate on the Senate floor.
According to their website, the state’s Republican Senators tried to get an amendment passed that would allow victims of domestic abuse or stalking who are under the age of 21 to purchase and possess a firearm for self-defense, but it failed even though it had bipartisan support.
“I’m extremely disappointed to see our Democratic colleagues reject our proposals that would have safeguarded the legal rights of self-defense to victims and survivors of domestic violence, assault, and stalking,” Senator Jim Smallwood who represents Douglas County said. “The General Assembly must act to protect many of our state’s most vulnerable, and these amendments would have done exactly that.”
Republicans were successful in getting the amendment to grandfather in residents who are at least 18 years old at the time the bill is enacted and passed. “While I am thankful we were able to get this one amendment on Senate Bill 23-169, I am still disappointed to see my Democrat colleagues’ lack of willingness to find common ground,” Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer from Weld County, who sponsored the amendment, said. “The majority party opted to pass these bills against the testimony we heard in committee and the concerns expressed on the floor. We had a real opportunity here for bipartisan cooperation. Unfortunately, one-party control leads to this type of political tone-deafness.”
At a recent Teller County Commissioners’ meeting, the rural county’s representatives also took some time to speak against SB 23-169 and the other gun-control bills recently passed by the governor. Commissioner Dan Williams reminded residents that a 17-year-old can join the Marines and fight with a firearm for the country if they have a high school diploma.
Commissioner Erik Stone said that he argued against the bill at the state capitol and that he didn’t like some of the arguments given by the bill’s proponents. “I was pretty outraged at some of the stuff I heard yesterday, especially in relation to this bill,” Stone said at the Teller County Commissioners’ meeting in March. “The sponsors and some of the primary supporters of the bill got up and they said that 18- to 20-year-olds are ‘stupid, mentally incapable of the responsibility of owning a firearm, they do not have impulse control, are reckless, and are dangerous.’ These are the words they used to describe our 18- to 20-year-olds in Colorado. Yet we want these people to join the military and we want these people to become deputy sheriffs.”
