Hours of testimony heard on new Colorado bill to ban ‘assault weapons’
DENVER (KDVR) — A renewed push to ban what are known as “assault weapons” was back at the Colorado Capitol on Tuesday.
A comparable bill went before the House Judiciary committee last year, but advocates and opponents say the difference is in the details.
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Things are a little different this time around — the biggest difference being lawmakers voting on the bill in committee.
“Last year, I sat here physically looking alone, and I said, it’s the guns. I said it a few times. It’s still the guns,” said Rep. Elisabeth Epps, of Denver.
In 2023, Epps was the lone House sponsor of a controversial yet popular bill to define and ban what are known as assault weapons, calling for an end to them being made, bought, sold or transferred here in Colorado. The 2023 bill was titled “Prohibit Assault Weapons in Colorado.” The new measure is titled “Prohibit Certain Weapons Used in Mass Shootings.”
The new bill keeps those aspects intact. The big difference would be the punishment for buying one of the weapons under the definitions in the bill. If it becomes law, violators would be hit with a hefty fine: $250,000 for a first-time violation and $500,000 for every violation after that one, rather than a Class 2 misdemeanor as proposed in last year’s measure.
This year, teacher and state Rep. Tim Hernandez is also a prime sponsor of the measure, joining Epps in an effort they said voters want to see happen.
“Colorado voters are asking us to show up boldly, and this is an election year, and we have to make sure that we show up in ways that enshrine our Democratic majority. This is one of the highest polling issues of Democratic voters across the state, and I know that Democrats in the Senate will do good work. I can’t speak for what looks like,” Hernandez said.
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Unlike last year, it is believed there will be enough support for the bill this year to make it out of committee and onto the House floor. The Senate and beyond are where things remain unclear.
“We do have to go to Finance committee because the civil penalties do generate revenue for the state. But I know that if we put this on the desk of Democrats in the Colorado statehouse, they will pass it,” Hernandez said. “We’ll get it over to the Senate, I feel very confident. Every gun violence prevention legislation that has ever made it to the Colorado House has been signed into law by the governor.”
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Even with the uncertainty surrounding the bill’s progress this year, hundreds of gun rights advocates showed up to rally at the Capitol and testify against the measure. The group Rocky Mountain Gun Owners is already threatening to sue over the new measure.
“This is an utter disgrace! An utter disgrace that we have to be here fighting for our God-given right to own a semiautomatic firearm,” Rocky Mountain Gun Owners CEO Taylor Rhodes said to a crowd of rallygoers ahead of the committee hearing.
“Right now, we are raising money for our legal challenge. These are extremely expensive challenges,” Rhodes told FOX31 after his committee testimony. “We are projecting anywhere from $750,000 to a million a piece when we challenge these laws. So we are raising the money to make sure we can file our lawsuits as soon as the ink is dry on Governor (Jared) Polis’ desk.”
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The bill would have to make it to the governor’s desk first, going through another House committee and two floor votes before it would have to go through the process in the Senate before lawmakers end the session in May. Testimony in the House committee was expected to go late into Tuesday night.
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