Two Senate bills – one raises the age to purchase a firearm to 21, another expands the groups of people that can ask courts to remove guns from somebody – are on their way to Gov. Jared Polis for signing after winning final approval with House amendments on Monday.  

A third Senate bill, on gun liability, is headed to a conference committee after sponsors could not agree on House amendments.

Senate Bill 170 would expand the list of individuals who can seek an extreme risk protection order to include district attorneys, college faculty and K-12 teachers, school counselors, and medical personnel, as well as behavioral health professionals.

The House amended the bill during its marathon sessions a week ago to add a hotline in the Department of Public Safety that could provide information on ERPOs, also known as the red flag law, but not legal advice. It also spelled out how information provided by a medical professional could be used and a process for deleting that information once it is no longer needed.

The momentum for expanding the list of who can file for a red flag petition grew after the Club Q shooting last November, when a gunman killed five people at the Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ nightclub. The shooter was already known to Colorado Springs law enforcement for making a bomb threat the year before. His firearms were seized at that time under a restraining order, but he allegedly acquired more weapons after that. According to Senate committee testimony from El Paso County Sheriff Joe Roybal, those weapons were not obtained legally.

The Senate adopted the amendments and re-passed the bill on a 22-12 vote, with Sen. Kevin Priola, D-Henderson, the lone Democrat to vote “no” with Republicans. 

Polis advocated for expansion of the red flag law during his State of the State address in January, and he is expected to sign the measure.

Senate Bill 169 would raise the age for purchasing a firearm from 18 to 21. House lawmakers amended it to strike all references to possession of a firearm by someone under the age of 21, to address a long list of concerns around the ability of someone to protect livestock, or participate in hunting or shooting sports or hunter education. 

The Senate re-passed the bill on a 20-14 vote, with Priola and Sens. Dylan Roberts, D-Avon and Nick Hinrichsen, D-Pueblo, voting “no,” along with members of the Republican caucus.

Polis has not said whether he supports the measure.

The third bill, Senate Bill 168, would grant victims of gun violence the ability to sue firearms manufacturers and dealers who violate a state standard of conduct outlined in the measure. The bill’s Democratic sponsors, Sens. Sonya Jaquez Lewis of Longmont and Chris Kolker of Littleton, asked the Senate to reject House amendments and to allow the bill to go to a conference committee, with permission to go beyond the scope of differences between the House and Senate versions. That means legislators can amend the bill to add new elements outside the point of contention between the two chambers.  

Lawsuits against firearms manufacturers have long been prohibited under a 2004 federal law known as Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. Democratic legislators said Colorado’s law is considered one of the three most restrictive in the nation, as it not only bans those lawsuits but also allows manufacturers to sue for legal fees. 

The House amended the bill to rename it in honor of Jessica Redfield Ghawi, one of the victims murdered in the Aurora Theater shooting in 2012. Ghawi’s parents, Lonnie and Sandy Phillips, sued an online ammunition dealer after the massacre, but because of Colorado’s state law prohibiting such lawsuits, the Phillips not only lost in state court but were ordered to pay the legal fees sought by the respondent. The fees of more than $200,000 forced the Phillips into bankruptcy.

Kolker told Colorado Politics the bill’s backers have additional amendments to discuss with the House sponsors.

Polis has not weighed in on SB 168. 

Several other gun bills are still waiting in the wings. A hearing for House Bill 1230, which would ban assault weapons, was canceled last week and a new hearing date has not been announced. Polis is believed to oppose the measure.

A bill to ban ghost guns, which are guns assembled from kits and which lack serial numbers, is also expected in this legislative session, to be sponsored by Sens. Rhonda Field, D-Aurora, and Chris Hansen, D-Denver. Polis said he favors action on ghost guns during his 2023 State of the State address.

The 17-year-old who shot two East High administrators last month is believed to have used a ghost gun and was already on probation for a ghost rifle. 

Finally, a bill allowing counties to prohibit firearms discharges in neighborhoods of at least 35 dwellings per square mile is stalled in the state Senate. House Bill 1165 won final approval in the House on Feb. 16 and has been awaiting a hearing in the other chamber ever since. No hearing date has been announced. 

Editor’s note: corrected to identify the number of deaths at Club Q.