Democrat Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado signed a slew of gun control bills into law on Friday, from raising the age requirement to purchase a firearm to rolling back legal protections for the firearm industry.
According to The Colorado Sun, the four measures expanded the state’s red flag law, raised the minimum age to buy a firearm to 21, instituted a three-day waiting period on firearm purchases, and enacted legislation that makes it easier for people to “sue the gun industry.”
S.B. 170, which expands the state’s red flag law, will now allow health care providers, mental health providers, district attorneys and teachers petition a judge to order a gun seizure. Previously, only law enforcement and family members could petition a judge to issue a seizure order. And, the bill creates a hotline run by the government to instruct the public on how to request gun seizures. The government will also be unveiling an education campaign surrounding the legislation.
H.B. 1219, which implements a three-day waiting period on firearm purchases, is meant to prevent “heat-of-the-moment suicides and homicides,” the Sun noted. If a background check takes longer than three days, gun purchasers must wait until the check is complete to obtain a gun. And, the law allows local governments to enact longer waiting periods for gun purchases.
The last piece of legislation, S.B. 168, reportedly took away the state’s “extra protections for gun and ammunition manufacturers and sellers against lawsuits,” the Sun explained. A law implemented in 2000, after the Columbine shooting, gave the firearm industry civil protections that required plaintiffs to pay defendants’ attorney’s fees in all dismissed cases and only allowed people to bring product liability lawsuits against gun makers, sellers and importers.
“Coloradans deserve to be safe in our communities, in our schools, our grocery stores, night clubs and everywhere in between,” Polis said before signing the bills.
Reportedly, some Democrats voted with Republicans against the gun control measures. The day the bills were signed, pro-Second Amendment groups filed lawsuits against some of the laws.
“We’re talking about constitutional freedoms here, we’re talking about things that are guaranteed by God and enshrined by our government,” said Taylor Rhodes, the executive director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners told the outlet. “We believe we have two slam dunk lawsuits that we will easily win.”
Last month, Townhall reported how Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, signed a bill into law that banned so-called “assault weapons” in the state. This came in the aftermath of a shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, where a transgender 28-year-old broke into a school and shot six people, three of which were children. Police gunned down the shooter.
On the other hand, Republican-led states, like Florida and Nebraska, have enacted permitless carry bills.
“This bill sends the message that Nebraska’s a state that supports the Second Amendment and the rights of Nebraskans to defend themselves,” Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen said at the signing of the bill in his state.