Colorado is an absolutely beautiful state. My wife’s cousin lives there, and her social media posts occasionally make me a little jealous because of the views and hiking in her area.
The state is home to some of the most breathtaking views you could possibly imagine.
The political demographic is also extremely interesting.
Originally, the state was heavily agricultural and conservative in its political views. But with the development of large cities like Denver, liberalism grew. In 2012, they hammered this home by legalizing marijuana.
The liberal views reached a new peak last year when they passed “red flag” gun laws that state if an individual shows any “red flags” that they may be a danger to themselves or others, then the state can come in and take their firearms away.
This is pretty scary because the literal “red flags” are never defined. So, if a person were to be making a joke that is laced with sarcasm, but someone doesn’t understand the sarcasm, then they can report them, and that person would no longer be legally allowed the protection of a firearm.
This also means that if a person is politically, personally, or racially motivated, then they can claim “red flags” and get that individual disarmed.
That’s especially disconcerting because, as is well documented, gun laws were originally racially driven. It would make much more sense to even the playing field and arm everyone, but that’s neither here nor there.
Regardless of the motivations for “red flag” gun laws, Colorado, following the lead of Virginia’s proposed gun laws that recently occurred, is now at it again with two new gun laws.
They’re companion law propositions, and they play off each other well. Not in a positive sense of course, but let’s go ahead and look at them.
HB20-1355: Safe Storage
The bill proposed by Democrats Duran and Mullica, HB20-1355 is about the safe storage of firearms.
Basically, now you can’t have the firearm in your home locked and cocked for a break-in.
You must stow your firearm in a safe or have it locked with a firearm lock if: “a juvenile can gain access without parent or guardian’s permission, or a resident is ineligible to possess a firearm under state or federal law.”
On top of that, licensed gun dealers must provide additional locks with the legal purchase of any firearm. This, of course, adds extra expenses to the gun industry. If a gun dealer does not comply it is an unclassified misdemeanor and can be up to a $500 fine.
For an induvial that doesn’t comply with this law, it is a class 2 misdemeanor.
On top of that, the bill calls for courts to report the annual cases of the Safe Storage law. This, I assume, is to find its effectiveness. It can also be assumed, if the numbers don’t match what they want, there will be some repercussions.
One potential repercussion would be unwarranted house checks for compliance. This would go in tandem with unwarranted “red flags.”
This bill could potentially lead to furthering an authoritarian agenda.
All these measures are to disarm citizens as well. As we can see by what is happening in China, the country should not stand for this. An authoritarian socialist or communist country is not okay.
HB20-1356: Lost or Stolen Firearm
The main component of this bill is that the moment a lost or stolen firearm must be reported to police within 48 hours of the discovery that the firearm is lost or stolen.
If failure to comply were to happen, it is a petty offense with a $25 fine. Upon a second offense, it becomes a class 3 misdemeanor.
The Lost or Stolen Firearm bill is championed by Democrats Sullivan and Jaquez Lewis.
I’m just saying, if I have a firearm stolen, I’m reporting it immediately because those things aren’t cheap, and I want to either get my property or money back from the injustice. On top of that, I don’t want to be held liable if the firearm is stolen from me and then used to commit a crime.
How These Bills Work in Tandem for Oppression
Now, the way these bills work together is pretty sneaky.
The first proposed bill is much worse than the first, but if you report a lost or stolen firearm, there will likely be an investigation. In that investigation, they could find that you didn’t have the firearm properly stored and get charged for breaking the Safe Storage law.
Breaking of either of these two laws could end up being grounds for “red flag” gun confiscation.
Secondarily, if you lose a gun (which I would never want to admit to because I would be made fun of a lot by my friends as well as the legal issues) how long do you wait before you decide it is officially lost?
That is the main question there. Then if it is lost, you obviously didn’t have it safely stored. Therefore, you could be answering that class 2 misdemeanor. If you are also admitting to the gun being lost, then the police could determine it lost since the last known use of the firearm which could be dated pretty far back. This makes you also fall outside the 48-hour window. Hopefully, it’s the first instance of this happening and you only get the $25 fine. But if it isn’t, then you face a class 3 misdemeanor on top of the class 2 from Safe Storage law.
This leads to “red flags” as well as having a criminal record and potential jail time. All in all, it is a way for people who have a weird occurrence happen to become oppressed and disarmed.
At the same time, Democrats are saying you need to rely on the government because they’re trying to help you. It seems a little backward to me.
But what do I know? I’m just a guy doing my own research and thinking for myself.