I have also supported gun violence prevention legislation to:

• Prohibit untraceable “ghost guns”.  Colorado’s gun violence prevention laws, especially background check laws, can be too easily evaded by assembling firearms from kits.  This bill requires that parts be “serialized” (assigned a unique number by a federal firearms licensee) for the purposes of compliance with other laws.  Firearms hobbyists can still build their own weapons provided they comply with serialization.  (SB23-279 – signed into law);

• Allow gun violence survivors equal access to the courts – for decades the firearms industry has benefitted from special interest carveouts from generally applicable laws that let people go to court to recover against harmful industry practices.  This bill ends that special protection for the firearms industry.  The burden of proof remains on the person filing a suit, just like it does for any other industry (SB23-168 – signed into law);

• Establish a three-day wait period to take possession of a firearm – waiting periods can reduce firearm deaths by suicide 7-11% and firearm deaths by homicide, such as domestic violence cases, by 17% (HB23-1219 – signed into law);

• Prohibit openly carrying firearms near voting locations – whatever your political ideology, you should have the right to go to a voting location and exercise your right to vote without intimidation (HB22-1086 – signed into law);

• Strengthen the requirement that domestic violence offenders relinquish firearms – abusive relationships can turn from harmful to deadly when firearms are part of the mix, so this bill fortifies a nearly ten-year-old law to make sure that domestic violence offenders must promptly surrender firearms.  (HB21-1255 – signed into law);

• Strengthen background check laws – This bill enhances existing gun transfer background check laws by prohibiting a person from acquiring a gun within five years after a conviction of certain misdemeanor offenses indicating violent tendencies, like assault, child abuse, bias crime, or cruelty to animals. (HB21-1298 – signed into law);

• Restore local control in firearms regulations – Aurora’s gun safety needs aren’t exactly the same as those of one of Colorado’s small, rural communities, so this bill eliminates a nearly twenty-year-old restriction on certain local government ability to enact gun safety ordinances appropriate to each community.  State laws such as background checks and concealed carry permits continue to apply everywhere in Colorado (SB21-256 – signed into law);

• Create a duty to report lost and stolen firearms - when a firearm is accidentally lost, or worse, taken from its rightful owner, that firearm may thereafter be used in a crime.  This bill requires a person who believes a firearm has been lost or stolen to notify the local law enforcement agency within 5 days, including a description of the firearm.  This way lawful firearms owners are more likely to recover their weapons, and law enforcement can be aware of the risk of a crime being committed by someone who improperly possesses a firearm. (SB21-078 – signed into law);

• Require safe storage of firearms – firearms that are not stored properly can be accidentally fired by small children or stolen and put to illegal purposes.  This bill requires that firearms be properly stored in a gun safe or with a locking device or personalized biometric locking features, or on the person of their owner (HB21-1106 – signed into law);

• Create the Colorado Office of Gun Violence Prevention – the office is in charge of increasing awareness of existing gun safety laws, such as Extreme Risk Protection Orders and promoting safe and responsible firearms ownership.  This bill specifically requires the office to make information available in multiple languages and to emphasize outreach to communities that are disproportionately affected by gun violence. (HB21-1299 - signed into law);

• Create Colorado’s Red Flag “Extreme Risk Protection Order” Law – drawing on similar laws from both “red” and “blue” states, this bill creates a legal process whereby law enforcement officials or family members can ask a court to issue an order for removal of firearms from a person who is found to be a risk to others or him- or herself.  The person has a right to state-funded counsel and high evidence standards are written into the law to address Due Process concerns (HB19-1177 – signed into law).