Colorado House debates gun and drug bills
The Colorado state House spent the weekend working on a trio of gun bills, with approval largely along party lines, although there were a few Democratic defections along the way.
Majority Democrats also invoked a rarely used rule to limit debate after two solid days of Republican filibusters on the bills.
The first bill, Senate Bill 168, would allow victims of gun violence to sue firearms manufacturers and dealers for damages in civil court under a claim of wrongful conduct. It would overturn a 2000 law that supporters of the bill claim is among the most restrictive in the nation and which shielded the firearms industry not only from liability, but required plaintiffs to pay defendant legal fees in dismissed cases.
Sandy and Lonnie Phillips sued an online firearms dealer who sold thousands of rounds of ammunition to the shooter in the Aurora Theater massacre in 2012. The Phillips’ daughter was among the deceased.
The case was dismissed by a Colorado court and the family was ordered to pay more than $200,000 in legal fees. They eventually filed bankruptcy and lost their home.
Republicans began filibustering SB 168 early afternoon Friday and into the night, with claims that the bill will drive law-abiding firearms dealers out of business.
Rep. Richard Holtorf, R-Akron, pointed out during Friday’s debate that the person handling the firearm has the responsibility to handle the weapon in a responsible manner. If handled responsibly, there is no liability to the industry, he said. If it is handled carelessly, then liability would apply, he said.
Holtorf later told the House about friends who hold FFL - a federal firearms license that allows them to sell firearms. It’s often a “side hustle” for farmers and others who need a little extra income, he said. He said he’d gotten a call from a constituent in Phillips County who is concerned the bill will put him out of that side business. This bill does not work for his constituents on the Eastern Plains or any other rural area, he added.
The debate on SB 168 continued until 11 p.m. and the House adjourned without taking action.
They resumed Saturday morning, but began with a different bill.
Red flag law
Senate Bill 170 would expand the types of people who can seek extreme-risk protection orders (ERPO), also known as the red flag law. Under an ERPO, and as the law currently exists, only law enforcement, family or household members can seek the petition, which would ask a court to remove firearms from a person deemed at risk to themselves or to others.
Under the law, a judge would first issue a temporary order of up to 14 days, along with scheduling a full hearing. If after the hearing, the judge determines the person is still a risk, the firearms can be held by law enforcement for up to a year. The state is required by the law to provide the person at risk with a lawyer, regardless of ability to pay. The law also includes penalties for filing a false petition. A Larimer County woman was convicted last year of filing a false petition in 2020 against a Colorado State University police officer.
The law is named after Douglas County Deputy Sheriff Zackari Parrish III, who was ambushed in 2017 by a mentally ill man who later killed himself. The man was previously known to law enforcement as suffering from a mental health crisis and his mother attempted to get his firearms removed without success.
The law was upheld by the state Supreme Court.
In 2020, the first full year after the law’s implementation, 111 petitions were filed, mostly by law enforcement, according to a third-party analysis ordered by the attorney general.
But the shooting at Club Q, an LGBTQ+ club in Colorado Springs in November, prompted the governor and Democrats in the General Assembly to add more people to the list of those who can seek petitions. The shooter, who is awaiting trial, was also known to law enforcement for making bomb threats in 2021. His firearms were removed at that time under a restraining order.
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