Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Second Amendment

How a youth trap shooting story became a debate over gun policy
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

How a youth trap shooting story became a debate over gun policy

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project The Colorado Sun article linked first below is nominally about high school kids, trap shooting, and teaching young ones how to be responsible around guns. The subhead illustrates pretty well: “Schools in mostly rural counties are building high school shooting teams that teach kids discipline, focus, camaraderie — and most important, how to handle a gun safely.” Perfectly fine topic. I like the topic, and I like that the Sun is looking outside the metro area to bring interesting stories back to that region, something that they do regularly if I’m going to be fair to them. If the Sun reporter stayed with the topic of the subhead, if she had focused on what is an unusual sport and how it’s helping youngsters...
Second Amendment Lawsuit Targets Denver Gun Ban and State Magazine Limits
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Second Amendment Lawsuit Targets Denver Gun Ban and State Magazine Limits

By Deborah Grigsby | The Denver Gazette A lawsuit filed in federal court by three Denver residents and two gun rights groups aims to strike down the city’s “assault weapon” restrictions, along with bans on ammunition magazines holding 15 rounds or more. The complaint, filed on June 30 by Ray Elliott, Trevor Alley and Michael Vitco, along with the Firearms Policy Coalition and the Colorado State Shooting Association, an arm of the National Rifle Association, alleges Denver’s semiautomatic firearm ban is unconstitutional, as is its ban on 15-round or larger magazines. Naming the city government, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, Attorney General Phil Weiser, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Director Armando Saldate III, Colorado State Patrol Chief Col. Matthew Packard and Denve...
Are Colorado DOR employees letting personal gun control views shape official messaging?
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Are Colorado DOR employees letting personal gun control views shape official messaging?

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project I hesitate to be too strong in my contention, and I hesitate to use the phrase “deep state,” but I am beginning to get an intuition that employees at the Colorado Department of Revenue (DOR) are letting their values on gun control mix in with their jobs. Even this scaled-down wording is a pretty big accusation, so let me defend why I’m starting to feel this way. The first and most obvious is their list of weapons you’ll need a government permission slip to buy under SB25-003 (something I’ve covered multiple times in the past, but if you’d like to see a recent discussion between Jon Caldara and Ray Elliott of the Colorado State Shooting Association on the topic, see “Related” below). The second part goes all th...
Colorado’s July Laws Reshape Firearm Sales and Wildfire Insurance Rules
kdvr.com, Approved, State

Colorado’s July Laws Reshape Firearm Sales and Wildfire Insurance Rules

By Maddie Rhodes | KDVR DENVER (KDVR) — Several Colorado laws are set to go into effect starting in July. While Colorado laws get passed all the time, the effective date is sometimes delayed to make sure people have time to comply with the law before there are penalties. Usually, several laws go into effect in January at the start of the year and in July, just past the halfway point of the year. In January, laws surrounding gun show requirements and deceptive pricing practices went into effect. Now, laws including the sale of firearm ammunition and property insurance policies are going into effect on July 1. Colorado laws going into effect Here are some of the laws going into effect: New requirements for sale of firearm ammunition House...
Colorado Activists Push Ban on Traditional Lead Ammunition for Hunters
Sportsmen’s Alliance, Approved, State

Colorado Activists Push Ban on Traditional Lead Ammunition for Hunters

By Sportsmen’s Alliance | Sportsmen’s Alliance Anti-hunting extremists—led by disgraced former Humane Society of the United States executive who was forced to resign amid sexual harassment allegations Wayne Pacelle—petitioned the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission (CPW) to ban hunting with traditional lead ammunition in the Centennial State. This move comes just months after they snuck an amendment into the federal Farm Bill that would have banned hunting with dogs—a move that Sportsmen’s Alliance defeated. Why are Activists Targeting Lead Ammunition and Tackle? Banning traditional lead ammunition has been the goal of these groups for some time. In 2010, several groups petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ban the manu...
Supreme Court Unanimously Rejects Federal Gun Ban For Marijuana Users
The Federalist, Approved, National

Supreme Court Unanimously Rejects Federal Gun Ban For Marijuana Users

By: Shawn Fleetwood | The Federalist The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held on Thursday that the federal government’s use of a federal law restricting gun possession for certain unlawful drug users to be “inconsistent with the Second Amendment.” “The Second Amendment protects the right of ‘all Americans’ to keep and bear firearms for self defense,” the court’s “narrow” ruling reads. “Affording the government ‘broad power to designate any group as dangerous and thereby disqualify its members from having a gun’ would risk allowing it to ‘quickly swallow’ the Second Amendment.” Known as U.S. v. Hemani, the case centers around the government’s prosecution of Ali Hemani, a Texas resident who was charged under a provision (18 U.S. Code § 922(g)(3)) ...
New Colorado Laws Bring Major Changes July 1 for Gun Buyers, Homeowners, and Hunters
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

New Colorado Laws Bring Major Changes July 1 for Gun Buyers, Homeowners, and Hunters

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics Colorado will usher in a new set of laws on July 1 that touch everything from ammunition sales to insurance transparency and wildlife trafficking enforcement. Here is a look at some of the state’s new laws: Ammunition sales Sponsored by Majority Leader Monica Duran, D-Wheat Ridge, and Rep. Lindsay Gilchrist, D-Denver, and Sens. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder, and Cathy Kipp, D-Fort Collins, House Bill 25-1133 raises the minimum age to purchase ammunition from 18 to 21 years old. The bill also requires written notice to delivery drivers transporting boxes of ammunition, requires them to verify that the recipient is at least 21 and directs sellers to store ammunition in a secure area inaccessible to customers with...
Arapahoe County brings gun locks and overdose messaging into child welfare visits
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, Local

Arapahoe County brings gun locks and overdose messaging into child welfare visits

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Arapahoe County Child and Family Services, guns, and drugs I wanted to update something I wrote about earlier. The first link below is from January this year and gives you all the detail I could find about a program (funded by the Anschutz Family Foundation) called Safe Starts at Home. I’ll leave it to you to read the newsletter for more, but the upshot is that the Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative (FIPI) at CU Medical and Public Health Schools got grant money to develop firearm-safety and drug overdose materials (and training) to follow social workers into homes. The idea being that the material can be handed out and discussed with families when the social worker visits. At the time no one behind this ...
Colorado Gun Rights Group Challenges New Firearms Dealer Law in Court
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Gun Rights Group Challenges New Firearms Dealer Law in Court

By: Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics A firearms group has filed a lawsuit challenging a recently signed law expanding regulations for firearms dealers in Colorado. House Bill 26-1126 clarifies that firearms dealers must hold both a federal and state license to operate. The bill also allows the Department of Revenue to fine dealers up to $100,000 for second or subsequent violations of certain requirements. Additionally, HB 1126 expands record-keeping requirements to apply to all firearm purchases, rather than just pistols and revolvers. It includes certain requirements for gun shops, such as that dealers must safely store large-capacity magazines, have certain security features on all doors and windows and be equipped with an alarm system that includes video s...
Colorado seeks feedback from firearms dealers as new regulations take shape
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado seeks feedback from firearms dealers as new regulations take shape

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Colorado Department of Revenue seeks feedback from Firearms Dealers The Colorado Department of Revenue (DOR) was tasked with regulating — on top of the ATF and existing federal regulation — firearms dealers in the state. They are the ones who make the rules to enforce recently passed requirements on Colorado firearm dealers. I got an email from DOR last week announcing an upcoming rulemaking relevant to firearms dealers. The Department has an existing working group which will be doing the rulemaking, but that doesn’t mean you cannot weigh in. You can provide public comment to the group and can also send in written comment. The announcement of the meeting along with all links to draft rules, agendas, ...