Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post
Despite the threat of legal challenges and recall elections, Colorado Senate Democrats passed a gun control bill Thursday afternoon — the first such new legislation in six years.
The Senate voted 18-17 to pass a bill that would create the legal frameworkfor judges to order the removal of firearms from people they determine to be at risk of harming themselves or others. Senate President Leroy Garcia, D-Pueblo, was the only Democrat to vote against it.
“We all play a very critical role in reducing death and homicide,” Sen. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, said. “So if we see someone that’s in crisis and they’ve had multiple contacts with the police department, and we know because they’ve been to their home, we have a responsibility to do something.”
The way an extreme risk protection order would work under this bill is that law enforcement, a family member or a household member could petition a judge for the removal of a person’s firearms. The judge would hold a hearing — without the gun owner being present — to decide whether to grant a temporary order for up to 14 days.