Colorado bill to track gun and ammo purchases heads to Polis’ desk
DENVER (KDVR) — The first of the gun proposals introduced during the 2024 Colorado legislative session, which would track gun and ammunition purchases through payment networks, is heading to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk.
It comes as a slew of different bills addressing gun violence prevention are making their way through the legislative process.
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Supporters of Senate Bill 24-066, which cleared the House on Monday, said the biggest impact of this proposal will be felt behind the scenes, although it still plays a hand in preventing more acts of violence.
“This is an interesting way of approaching the problem, and it’s a tool for law enforcement,” said state Rep. Meg Froelich, a prime House sponsor of the bill.
Opponents disagree, saying the measure will not stop the issue.
“Sponsors of this legislation say, oh, this is going to help out public safety and law enforcement. It’s really not true,” said state Rep. Gabe Evans, a former police officer and opponent of the bill.
Gun, ammo purchases would be coded at point of payment in Colorado
Under the proposal, credit card companies would provide a code for gun and ammunition purchases at retailers in the state, which is not current practice in Colorado.
“There are these four-digit codes for every merchant in a credit card purchase. Currently, firearms and ammunition are exempted out of those codes. So this simply applies a code to firearms and ammunition and allows law enforcement to use those codes, if they need to, in an investigation,” Froelich said.
Sponsors said the codes would help law enforcement keep track of the purchases if the credit card companies see any suspicious patterns or activities. Opponents believe the bill is unnecessary.
“A lot of folks I talked to are scratching their heads because they can’t even figure out: What does this actually do?” Evans said. “It really just creates more red tape, more hassle, more costs for folks that are making credit card purchases in Colorado, because the credit card companies are going to have to try to comply with something that is just so poorly defined, and again, doesn’t do anything to actually help public safety,” Evans said.
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Sponsors said police have used these codes to crack down on crimes in other areas.
“Human trafficking, for example — and you see the purchase of five hotel rooms, $200 at a women’s clothing store and $300 at McDonald’s, law enforcement is able to investigate that and put those pieces together and go after those folks. That’s really where these merchants codes have come into play before,” Froelich said.
Unlike some of the other gun proposals, opponents say they probably will not pursue legal action against the measure if it’s signed into Colorado law. It now awaits the governor’s approval.
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