SIGNED! Critical Gun Safety Measure to Protect Domestic Violence Victims Becomes Law

DENVER, CO – Today, the governor signed a critical gun safety measure into law that seeks to protect victims of domestic abuse. 

HB21-1255, sponsored by Senators Brittany Pettersen & Sonya Jaquez-Lewis, would strengthen and streamline gun safety procedures to ensure that someone who has a domestic violence related protection order issued against them cannot access firearms.

“Gun violence is an epidemic in this country,” said Senator Brittany Pettersen (D-Lakewood). “Every year it seems we are shocked by a horrific mass shooting that shakes us to our core. But it’s the countless other shootings happening every day that represent the deadliest component of this crisis. Domestic abusers and other violent offenders are largely unobstructed from buying a firearm – putting vulnerable families and communities at increased risk of lethal violence. This has to change. By preventing dangerous people from purchasing or owning a gun, this new law will help stop tragedy before it starts.”

Current law already requires domestic violence offenders who are subject to a protection order stemming from an act of domestic or intimate partner violence to forfeit their firearms and refrain from possessing or purchasing firearms for the duration of the order. This bill simply clarifies the way in which defendants must comply with this requirement, and establishes requirements for courts.

“More than 30% of Coloradans experience physical abuse at the hands of a domestic partner – a threat made five times more deadly when their abuser owns a gun,” said Senator Sonya Jaquez-Lewis (D-Boulder County). “We must do everything in our power to protect victims by ensuring that perpetrators remain less dangerous. This includes passing measures like HB21-1255, which will strengthen current laws to keep guns out of the hands of domestic violence offenders.”