Global Courant 2023-04-28 23:09:02
Colorado’s governor signed four gun control bills Friday, bringing the once-purple state closer to liberal governments in California and New York, just months after a shooting at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub, the latest in the state’s long history of notorious massacres.
The new laws, which Democrats pushed through despite nightly filibusters from Republicans, aim to quell rising suicide and youth violence rates, prevent mass shootings and open avenues for gun violence victims to reclaim the long-protected gun industry. to complain.
Republicans denounced the bills as a severe violation of Second Amendment rights that would prevent Colorado residents from defending themselves amid a rising statewide crime rate.
SCHOOL SHOOTING AT NASHVILLE THE BLAME TO REPUBLICANS, WEATHER CULTURE BY THE MEDIA: ‘GOP GUN RIGHTS FANTASY’
Two of the new laws raise the age to buy a firearm from 18 to 21 and install a three-day waiting period between the purchase and receipt of a gun. A third will bolster the state’s red flag law, which allows a judge to temporarily remove a person’s gun if the person poses a threat to themselves or others. A fourth is rolling back some legal protections for the gun industry, exposing them to lawsuits from the victims of gun violence.
A fifth proposal, a sweeping ban on semi-automatic firearms, including certain handguns, shotguns and rifles, was killed by Democrats last week — illustrating that the Democratic majority was only willing to go so far when it came to gun restrictions.
Gov. Jared Polis speaks at the Colorado State Capitol in Denver, Colorado on March 22, 2023. Polis signed four new gun control laws on Friday. (RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
The new laws are likely to be tested in court, with gun lawyers threatening lawsuits and citing a New York Supreme Court decision last year that expanded Second Amendment rights and opened the door to challenges to gun restrictions across the country .
The new red flag law, also known as an extreme risk protection order, allows those who work closely with youth and adults — doctors, mental health professionals and teachers — to petition a judge for someone’s firearm to be temporarily removed. Previously, petitioning power was primarily limited to law enforcement officers and family members.
Republicans argued that the law would discourage people from speaking openly with doctors and mental health professionals for fear of having their guns seized temporarily.
The law requiring a three-day delay between buying and receiving a firearm — an effort to curb impulsive violence and suicide attempts — puts Colorado on a par with nine other states, including California, Hawaii and Florida.
FBI SIGNS THE NUMBER OF TIMES ARMED CITIZENS HAVE DISAPPOINTED ACTIVE SHOOTING INCIDENTS: REPORT
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Colorado has the sixth highest suicide rate in the country, with nearly 1,400 in 2021. An analysis of four studies by RAND Corporation found that wait times are associated with fewer gun suicide deaths.
Republicans expressed concern that people who need to defend themselves — such as victims of domestic violence — may not be able to get their hands on a gun in time to do so.
By raising the minimum age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21, Colorado joins California, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, New York and Rhode Island. Proponents point to the now oft-cited data from the CDC showing that gun violence has overtaken auto accidents as the leading cause of death for children and teens in recent years.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Colorado is also rolling back longstanding legal protections for gun manufacturers and dealers — laws that have kept the industry at bay from blame, especially after mass shootings. California, Delaware, New York and New Jersey have passed similar legislation in the past three years.
The Colorado bill repeals the 2000 state law that broadly barred gun manufacturers from being held liable for acts of violence committed with their products. While the industry is still largely protected from liability under federal law, the rules make it easier for gun violence victims to file lawsuits.
For example, Remington, the company that made the rifle used in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, settled a lawsuit filed by the victims’ families for $73 million last year. The families accused the company of targeting younger, high-risk men in advertising and placing their products in violent video games.
Opponents of the bill argued that it would only bog the gun industry down in false lawsuits.
