DENVER (KDVR) — Democrats on Friday introduced a bill to ban so-called “assault weapons” in Colorado.
Sponsored by Rep. Elisabeth Epps and Sen. Rhonda Fields, the bill “prohibits a person from manufacturing, importing, purchasing, selling, offering to sell, or transferring ownership of an assault weapon,” as well as rapid-fire trigger activators, according to the document.
It’s written to take effect upon passage, with penalties to kick in after July 1.
The idea of a ban on certain firearms in Colorado was on the minds of demonstrators at the Capitol on Friday. Hundreds of high school students, who are mourning a fellow classmate gunned down outside of school, marched to the statehouse to demand action on gun violence.
Rep. Meg Froelich, who is sponsoring other gun legislation this session, was at the Capitol on Friday and told FOX31’s Gabrielle Franklin about Democrats’ strategy on such a weapons ban.
“It’s important that we get the policy right. We are in a new era with a new Supreme Court that’s making challenging decisions, so we really have to be strategic and make sure that these are Supreme Court-challenge proof and really good policy that advances the issue and actually saves lives,” Froelich said.
Meanwhile, House Republicans publicized the new bill in a tweet.
“Democrats are coming for your #2A rights to defend yourself in Colorado,” the tweet reads in part.
Gov. Jared Polis has not specifically said whether he would support a ban on certain high-powered firearms. He was asked about it after his State of the State address in January.
“We specifically, looking at the data, believe that extreme risk protection orders can work better,” Polis said.
What’s in the assault weapons ban bill?
“Assault weapons” are defined in the bill as certain semiautomatic rifles, rifles with fixed large-capacity magazines or .50-caliber rifles, as well as certain semiautomatic pistols and firearms that can take added features to boost their power.
Also included in the definition are certain shotguns, like ones with a revolving cylinder or that have features like a grenade launcher.
It includes some exclusions. It would not apply to people in the military, police or government who are “authorized to acquire or possess an assault weapon and does so while acting within the scope of the person’s duties.” It also excludes police and armed vehicle employees.
The proposed legislation would allow sales and transfers between manufacturers and the military or police departments. Licensed gun dealers with a remaining inventory as of July 1 would also be allowed to sell or transfer it to a non-Colorado resident out-of-state.
Gun show vendors and licensed firearms dealers who violate the law would face civil penalties. Anyone who violates the rapid-fire trigger activator provision would face a class 2 misdemeanor.
Civil penalties include a $1,000 fine, with the number rising to $5,000 by 2025. Licensed gun dealers, gun show vendors and anyone who tries to sell a banned weapon would face a $250,000 fine for the first weapon sold and $500,000 for each violation thereafter.
Other gun bills under consideration in Colorado
The bill comes on the heels of another package of gun legislation introduced last week.
Those measures would change who could file a petition for an extreme risk protection order, increase the purchasing age to 21 to buy any firearm in the state, create a three-day waiting period for anyone to buy a gun and remove immunity protections for gun manufacturers.