Colorado Governor Jared Polis, center, on Saturday signed three of six gun bills passed in the latest legislative session into law. (David Zalubowski/Associated Press)
DENVER – Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Saturday signed three of six gun bills passed in the latest legislative session into law.
The Denver Post reported the bills were all announced after a mass shooting at King Soopers in Boulder on March 22, when 10 people were killed.
Earlier this year, Polis signed two other bills, setting regulations for safe storage of guns in homes and requirements for reporting lost or stolen firearms. One other gun bill, meant to keep firearms out of the hands of domestic abusers, awaits the governor’s signature.
The three bills signed Saturday all take effect immediately. They would:
- Require an expanded background check before a person can buy a gun.
- Reverse a ban that keeps local governments, such as cities and counties, from creating their own gun regulations. Local jurisdictions can only make ordinances that are stricter, not more lenient, than state law. Any regulations currently in place that are less restrictive are overturned.
- Gives about $3 million to the Colorado Department of Health and Environment for the first year to create the state’s first Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which will be tasked with promoting efforts to reduce gun violence.
