BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — As of Tuesday, Boulder County has approved five gun-related ordinances that would ban the sale of assault weapons among other measures in unincorporated Boulder County.
The Boulder County Board of County Commissioners adopted five ordinances they say are designed to address gun violence in a 3-0 vote on Tuesday. The unanimous vote will take effect immediately and is supported by Colorado Senate Bill 21-246 which removed the restrictions on local jurisdictions from passing gun violence prevention ordinances.
“As elected officials, we have a duty to help prevent gun deaths and violence in our communities,” Board of County Commissioners Vice-Chair Claire Levy said. “The ordinances that the Board adopted for unincorporated Boulder County are a step in the right direction and one we hope that other local jurisdictions in Colorado will soon adopt. But the work is not done. Political boundaries are porous and so we look forward to continuing to support work at a local, state, and federal level to do even more to protect people from the scourge of gun violence.”
What do the 5 ordinances prohibit or regulate?
The ordinances were approved on Aug. 2 and took effect immediately in unincorporated Boulder County:
- Ordinance 2022-2 – Prohibits anyone under the age of 21 from purchasing a firearm and prohibits anyone from selling a firearm to anyone under the age of 21.
- Ordinance 2022-3 - Establishes a 10-day waiting period for delivering firearms from a licensed firearms dealer and for the dealer to have received approval from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for the transfer of the firearm.
- Ordinance 2022-4 – Prohibits the carrying of firearms, whether in an open or concealed manner, in sensitive public areas in unincorporated Boulder County, including (but not limited to) government buildings, playgrounds, parks, within 500 feet of a polling station or ballot box, healthcare facilities, places of worship, preschools and daycares.
- Ordinance 2022-5 – Prohibits the manufacture, import, purchase, sale or transfer of any assault weapon, large-capacity magazine, or rapid-fire trigger activator in unincorporated Boulder County.
- Ordinance 2022-6 – Prohibits the possession of firearms that have not been identified with a serial number by a federal licensee (so-called “ghost guns”).
“These ordinances are common-sense gun violence laws designed to help keep people safe,” Commissioner Matt Jones said. “With each mass shooting or tragic gun death we read or hear about, we feel more motivated than ever to take action in the absence of federal or state protections. As we work to legislate for change, we remember those who lost their lives in our own community at the King Soopers in Boulder, and those more recently and further afield in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York.”
Unincorporated Boulder County is comprised of Allenspark, Coal Creek Canyon, Eldora, Eldorado Springs, Gold Hill, Gunbarrel, Hygiene and Niwot. Unincorporated Boulder County does not include the City of Boulder.