Late Tuesday, the Colorado General Assembly adjourned from its 2021 Regular Session. This adjournment came after multiple anti-gun bills were sent to the desk of Governor Jared Polis for his consideration. NRA Members and Second Amendment supporters are encouraged to continue contacting Governor Polis urging him to VETO Senate Bill 256, House Bill 1298 and House Bill 1299.
Senate Bill 256 repeals Colorado’s preemption law that prevents localities from passing their own gun control. This law has ensured that all law-abiding Coloradoans have the same rights regardless of where they reside, and has also ensured that adults licensed to carry a handgun for self-defense are not prevented from doing so just because they seek a higher education. Without it, there will be a confusing patchwork of laws that are difficult to know and obey, and an expansion of arbitrary boundaries where law-abiding citizens are left defenseless.
House Bill 1298 allows for the indefinite delay of firearm transfers. Current state law allows licensed firearm dealers to proceed with firearm transfers if the Colorado Bureau of Investigation does not make a determination within three days for what is supposed to be an instant background check done by computers. It is also what federal law considers appropriate for firearm dealers in other states that use the federal NICS background check system. Without this “safety valve,” mismanagement or deliberate meddling by bureaucrats with the background check system can result in access to Second Amendment rights being unjustly delayed or denied.
In addition, HB 1298 goes beyond federal law, by expanding the criteria by which individuals lose their Second Amendment rights without due process.
House Bill 1299 uses taxpayer dollars to create a so-called “Office of Gun Violence Prevention” to generate propaganda promoting the erosion of Second Amendment rights. While NRA does not oppose objective research into the root causes of violence, and violence prevention is a laudable goal, biased “research” focusing solely on firearms is often used to generate propaganda pushing for more gun control. This office is also to publicize the procedures for obtaining “red flag” orders to take away Second Amendment rights without due process, and is apparently not to make recommendations holding criminals accountable for their actions, as their efforts must be “without contributing to mass incarceration.”
Again, please contact Governor Polis and ask him to VETO Senate Bill 256, House Bill 1298 and House Bill 1299.
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