Colorado’s governor signed into law four gun control bills Friday, following other states struggling to cope with a nationwide surge in violent crime and mass shootings, despite a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that expanded Second 2nd Amendment rights . Before the ink was dry on Gov. With the signature of Jared Polis, gun rights groups filed a lawsuit to overturn two of the measures: raising the age for buying a gun from 18 to 21, and imposing a three-day waiting period between purchase and receipt of a gun. weapon. The courts are already weighing lawsuits over such restrictions in other states.

Governor of Colorado

signed four

arms control bills

Friday, which saw the once-purple state move closer to liberal-leaning governments in California and New York just months after a shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, the latest in the state’s long history of notorious massacres.

The new laws, which Democrats pushed through despite nightly filibusters from Republicans, aim to quell rising suicide and youth violence rates, prevent mass shootings and open avenues for gun violence victims to reclaim the long-protected gun industry. to complain.

They became just five months after one

mass shooting at an LGBTQ+ club

in Colorado Springs. Colorado residents deserve to be safe in our communities, in our schools, in our supermarkets, in our nightclubs, Polis said as he signed the measures in his office. The governor was flanked by activists in red shirts reading Moms Demand Action, students at a Denver high school recently hit by a shooting, and parents of a woman who died in the 2012 Aurora theater shooting. and citizens had tears in their eyes Their eyes roared with applause as Polis signed every bill Colorado has a history of notorious mass shootings, dating back to the Columbine High School massacre in 1999. Most Americans say they want stricter gun laws, according to polls

Republicans labeled the bills as severe impairments

Second 2nd

Amendment rights that would prevent Colorado residents from defending themselves amid a rising statewide crime rate.

Gun rights advocates vowed to reverse the measures

,

quote

a Supreme Court ruling last year

in New York that expanded Second Amendment rights and

opened the door to challenges

gun restrictions across the country. recovered and moved upstairs / AJ It’s a sad day for Colorado; we are becoming one of the most anti-Second 2nd Amendment states in the nation, said Rep. Mike Lynch, the leader of the Republican minority. A third measure passed by the legislature will strengthen the state’s “red flag” law, and a fourth will roll back some legal protections for the gun industry, exposing them to lawsuits from the victims of gun violence. Lynch expects the size of the gun restrictions, along with other bills Democrats introduced this year, to spark a backlash in the next election, especially in swing districts that helped strengthen Democrats’ majorities in the legislature. Two of the new laws will raise the age to buy a firearm from 18 to 21 and install a three-day waiting period between the purchase and receipt of a gun. A third will strengthen the state’s red flag law, which allows a judge to temporarily remove a person’s weapon if the person poses a threat to themselves or others. A fourth proposal, a sweeping ban on semi-automatic firearms, including certain handguns, shotguns and rifles, was threatened by Democrats last year. week illustrating that the Democratic majority was only willing to go so far when it came to gun restrictions. The new laws, signed by Gov. Jared Polis (D.) likely to be taken to court, with gun lawyers threatening lawsuits and citing

a Supreme Court ruling last year

in New York that expanded the rights of the second 2nd amendment and

opened the door to challenges

gun restrictions across the country.

New red flag law, known as an extreme risk protection order, gives more options to those who work closely with young people

S

and adult physicians, mental health professionals

,

and teachers to petition a judge to temporarily remove someone’s firearm. Previously, the power to petition was mainly limited to the law

–

maintenance and family members.

The goal is to act preemptively before someone attempts suicide or attacks others. LA County takes gun control measures after mass shootings. “It’s not too early. It’s too late for so many of the lost souls,” Fenberg said. We should have done more to prevent what happened.

Republicans argued that the law would discourage people

especially military veterans

of speaking candidly with doctors and mental health professionals for fear of having their weapons temporarily confiscated.

Lynch argued that while the Colorado Springs shooting was often held up as a reason to pass these types of gun restrictions, the evidence shows that they would do absolutely nothing to stop it. It kind of breaks my heart that I’ve taken these tragic events… and used those events to promote an agenda that doesn’t solve the problem, he said.

The law requiring a three-day delay between buying and receiving a firearm, an effort to curb impulsive violence and suicide attempts, puts Colorado on a par with nine other states, including California, Hawaii and Florida.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Colorado has the sixth highest suicide rate in the country, with nearly 1,400 in 2021. A

RAND Corporation

Rand Corp Analysis of four studies found that wait times are associated with fewer firearm suicide deaths.

Republican opponents

Concerns have been raised that people who need to defend themselves, such as victims of domestic violence, may not be able to get their hands on a gun in time to do so.

By raising the minimum age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21, Colorado joins California, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, New York and Rhode Island. Proponents point to the now oft-cited data from the CDC showing that gun violence has overtaken auto accidents as the leading cause of death for children and teens in recent years.

At the ceremony, Colorado Atty. Attorney General Phil Weiser welcomed the new laws for the vehicle safety campaign that spawned groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the forerunner of Moms Demand Action. But Taylor Rhodes, executive director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, the group that brought the lawsuits, had a different perspective. These are just bigoted politicians doing what bigoted politicians do: discriminate based on age, Rhodes said, referring to the new minimum age for gun purchases. In their speeches about rolling back legal protections for gun manufacturers, lawmakers often looked to Sandy and Lonnie Phillips, whose daughter, Jessica Ghawi, was killed in the 2012 Aurora theater shooting. The parents tried to sue the companies that made the gunnery ammunition and tear gas had sold, but failed to do so. In the end, the couple ended up owing more than $200,000 in attorney fees and had to file for bankruptcy. California, Delaware, New Jersey and New York have passed similar legislation in the past three years. Opponents of the bill argued that it would only bog the gun industry down in false lawsuits. Bedayn writes for the Associated Press Colorado is also rolling back longstanding legal protections for gun manufacturers and dealers, laws that have kept the industry at bay from blame, especially after mass shootings. California, Delaware, New York and New Jersey have passed similar legislation in the past three years. The Colorado law repeals the 2000 law that broadly barred gun manufacturers from being held liable for violence committed with their products. While the industry is still largely protected from liability under federal law, the rules make it easier for gun violence victims to file lawsuits. Last year, for example, Remington, the company that made the rifle used in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre,

settled a lawsuit

filed by the families of the dead for $73 million. The families accused the company of targeting younger, high-risk men in ads and putting their products in violent video games. Opponents of the bill argued it would only bog the gun industry in bogus lawsuits.