Democrats introduce firearm bills; assault weapon bill excluded

Democrats at the State Capitol have rolled out a package of four bills they claim will reduce gun violence.

But a bill that has already seen several drafts, on banning so-called assault weapons, wasn’t among them and it may not surface in the 2023 session.

The four bills introduced in the past week:

Senate Bill 370, sponsored by Senator Tom Sullivan, a Centennial Democrat. Sullivan was the sponsor in 2019 of the extreme risk protective order law, and the 2023 version is intended to allow more individuals to file for those orders. 

The so-called “red flag” law allows law enforcement or family members to seek a court order that would temporarily take away firearms from someone who is believed to be at risk to others or to themselves. Under the law, a judge would hold a hearing, within 24 hours, to evaluate the situation. If the person is deemed a risk, the firearms would be held by law enforcement for 14 days, and then re-evaluated. If the person is still considered to be a risk, the firearms could be withheld for as much as a year.

The changes contained in SB 370 would allow district attorneys, licensed medical care providers, licensed mental health-care providers and licensed educators to seek those orders. 

But the inclusion of doctors or mental-health providers is already raising questions about whether that would result in violations of doctor-patient confidentiality.

Sullivan, whose son, Alex, was murdered in the Aurora Theater shooting in 2012 by a man who was under a therapist’s care at the time, is carrying the bill along with Senate President Steve Fenberg of Boulder.

The second bill is Senate Bill 169, which would raise the age for purchasing a firearm from 18 to 21. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Kyle Mullica of Thornton and Jessie Danielson of Wheat Ridge. SB 169 also lowers the penalty for providing a firearm to someone under the age of 21; previously, it was a class 4 felony. The bill makes it a class 2 misdemeanor.

The bill has limited exceptions. It allows those between 18 and 21 who have a hunting license to possess a firearm, so long as it is not a handgun or semi-automatic center fire rifle. It also permits someone between 18 and 21 to possess a firearm who is in law enforcement, active-duty military or under the supervision of an immediate family member who is at least 25 years old.

But the bill carries no exceptions for agriculture or wildlife management, such as for a person between 18 and 21 who may need to deal with predators on the farm or ranch and does not have time to contact an older family member for that supervision. When asked about the bill during a Feb. 22 press conference, sponsors reiterated that the person would have to get a family member to supervise. That supervision would also be required for a young farmer or rancher with their own business who is under the age of 21.

The USDA’s 2017 census of agriculture reported there are more than 6,221 young producers (defined as under age 35) in Colorado, farming more than four million acres. Farms where a young producer is the principal number more than 3,000. The census also reported that the number of young producers is growing. 

Danielson was the Senate sponsor of the 2021 farmworkers bill of rights bill and often touts her experience growing up on a farm in Weld County.

Senate Bill 168 would allow victims of gun violence to file civil lawsuits against firearms manufacturers or businesses if the victim suffers harm from a firearm, including for illegal use. The bill is an attempted work-around to 2001 federal legislation that exempts firearms manufacturers from civil liability.

House Bill 1219 would impose a three-day waiting period for purchasing a firearm. Colorado currently has no waiting period for those purchases. The bill is sponsored by Reps. Meg Froelich of Englewood and Judy Amabile of Boulder. Amabile is also the sponsor of the bill to allow counties to ban the discharge of a firearm in unincorporated counties where there are 35 dwellings per square mile or about 91 people. HB 1165 is awaiting action in the state Senate.

The most-anticipated gun bill of the 2023 session, one that would ban “assault weapons” plus additional mechanisms, was not part of the package and may not happen this year, according to sources.

At least two drafts of that bill are public, although in the past week one of the sponsors, Rep. Andrew Boesenecker of Fort Collins, took his name off the bill. 

House Minority Leader Mike Lynch, R-Wellington, promised a “vigorous” fight against the gun bills introduced in the past week. 

The right to repair for agricultural equipment, supported by a legion of agricultural groups but opposed by House Republicans, including those who work in agriculture, cleared the House on Feb. 21 on a 44 to 17 vote, with two Republicans, including its sponsor, Rep. Ron Weinberg of Loveland, voting with Democrats.

House Bill 1011, which would allow farmers to obtain parts and other tools to repair their high-tech farm equipment, or to allow an independent repair shop to do it, now heads to the Senate. 

A bill to streamline the process for disabled veterans to obtain property tax exemptions is now awaiting House approval, after the State Senate gave it a unanimous vote on Feb. 22. 

Senate Bill 36, sponsored by Sen. Byron Pelton, R-Sterling, would eliminate the requirement that disabled veterans submit their applications first to the State’s division of veterans’ affairs. 

The bill would allow the disabled veteran to submit only one application, to the county assessor. It is now awaiting action from the House State, Civil, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.

Pelton is also the Senate sponsor of a bill to clarify the rules around National Guard service through the Senate. House Bill 1045 would allow a member of the Guard to take a leave of absence, paid or unpaid, for the equivalent of three weeks of work. The bill is just one vote away from the governor’s desk, on Senate amendments to the original bill.

Current law already dictates leave of up to three weeks but had no provisions for employees who don’t work traditional 40-hour work weeks, such as first responders, who often work longer shifts but fewer days. The bill clarifies that it would be three weeks of the employee’s regular work schedule. 

It would be up to the Guard member to decide whether to take unpaid or paid time off.