Colorado: 2013 Legislative Session Begins with Solidly Pro-Gun Bills Introduced but a Monumental Fight on Second Amendment Rights Still Lies Ahead

During the first full week of Colorado’s 69^th General Assembly, Republicans in the House and Senate introduced sound and thoughtful pro-gun reforms to improve the safety and gun rights of law-abiding residents in the Centennial State.

Senate Bill 9, sponsored by state Senators Scott Renfroe (R-13) and Ted Harvey (R-30), would authorize a school district board of education and the governing board of a charter school to adopt a written policy to allow an employee of the school district or charter school to carry a concealed handgun on school grounds if the person holds a valid permit to carry a concealed handgun.

Senate Bill 62, sponsored by state Senator Kent Lambert (R-9), would establish civil liability for businesses that prohibit the carrying of firearms on their premises, if a patron incurs damages from another person and is unable to defend themselves due to the prohibition on carrying a firearm.

House Bill 1048, sponsored by state Representative Justin Everett (R-22), would allow owners, managers and employees of a business to extend the right to use deadly force against an intruder under certain conditions.

However, Governor John Hickenlooper and anti-gun Democrats in both legislative chambers and are still seriously promoting many anti-gun measures that would severely restrict your Second Amendment rights.  These arbitrary and unconstitutional measures will only victimize law-abiding citizens in Colorado and leave them vulnerable to the criminal who will never comply with a gun control law.

Anti-gun lawmakers in the Colorado General Assembly have publicly advocated passage of legislation to ban commonly-owned semi-automatic rifles, ban “high capacity magazines,” restrict private firearm sales and reverse the state Supreme Court ruling on Campus Carry.

Last week Governor Hickenlooper even went as far to ask in his state of the state address, “Why not have universal background checks for all gun sales?”  These misguided proposals are an affront to our constitutional rights as law-abiding citizens.

These anti-gun elected officials are enlisting the help of anti-gun New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his rights infringing group, “Mayors Against Illegal Guns” (MAIG).  They see this year as their best chance to steal your individual gun rights away, in a shortsighted political play for power.

The battle in Denver that lies before us will be an assault on our Second Amendment rights unlike one we have ever seen.  As gun owners, sportsmen and supporters of the Second Amendment, we will need each and every one of you to join together in this fight to maintain these freedoms we hold so dear.

Your NRA-ILA will be closely monitoring and tracking all legislative actions that could impact our Right to Keep and Bear Arms and hunting heritage.  Please continue to contact your state legislators and urge them to support these pro-gun measures, and to oppose legislation that will infringe on our Second Amendment rights!

Please stay tuned to www.nraila.org for further updates and opportunities to get involved.