Gov. Jared Polis on Friday signed off on four gun bills, which the Democratic majorities controlling Colorado’s General Assembly believe will help rein in the state’s gun violence problem.

At a ceremony at the state Capitol, Polis said the four gun bills are a “significant investment in making Colorado safer.” He said Coloradans deserve to be safe in their communities, schools, grocery stores, nightclubs and everywhere in between, adding, “They shouldn’t have to fear the threat of gun violence.”

Second Amendment advocates, who earlier threatened a lawsuit against the measures, said they have, indeed, challenged two of the four measures, arguing the new laws infringe on their right to keep and bear arms. They said they are considering suing over the other two bills.  

Republicans in both chambers, significantly outnumbered by their Democratic colleagues, won concessions on several bills. In the House, Republicans launched several filibusters to delay their passage.

In a statement Friday, House Minority Leader Mike Lynch, R-Wellington, described the bill signings as a “historically dark day.”  

“Today, Colorado is less free and our citizens less safe and able to protect themselves. For law abiding Coloradans, it’s a historically dark day – a day that many of our citizens, no matter their political party, thought impossible in their state,” Lynch said. 

Lynch said most Colorado gun owners follow the law but that Democrats want to punish them for the criminal or tragic actions of a few.

“Democrats believe that their strong midterm election gave them a mandate to infringe on Coloradans’ inalienable right to live their lives without needless government intrusion,” he said. “But Americans have always rejected this broad attack on our freedoms, even in the name of good intentions.”

Senate Bill 168, the first bill from the package, repeals previous state law that barred gun violence victims from suing firearms manufacturers and dealers. The measure was driven in part by the experience of Sandy and Lonnie Phillips, who sued a Texas gun dealer in Colorado court because he sold ammunition without a background check to the man who murdered 12 people at the Aurora theater shooting in 2012. Seventy others were injured in the shooting, including nearly 60 from gunfire.

The name of their daughter, Jessica Ghawi, who was one of the victims, was added to the title of the bill. 

Sen. Tom Sullivan’s son, Alex, was also among the victims.

The Phillips, who held each other during the ceremony, stood by Polis’ side as he signed the measure. 

“Enough is enough,” said Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis, D-Longmont, one of the bill sponsors. She said it was a “day to be hopeful,” one in which Coloradans can hold the gun industry to the same rules as any other business.

“Today is about action, not words,” added co-sponsor Sen. Chris Kolker, D-Littleton. 

Rep. Javier Mabrey, D-Denver, added that it was powerful to work on the bill, while high school students demanded action from the General Assembly. The students have been protesting at the state Capitol, particularly following the shooting of two school administrators at East High School in March. Police said a student under a pat down regime shot the staffers, who survived. The student was later found dead. Authorities believes he killed himself.   

Senate Bill 169 increases the minimum age for purchasing a firearm from 18 to 21, with limited exceptions. 

Lawmakers saluted the many advocates for the bills: Giffords, Everytown for Gun Sense, the Brady Center, Moms Demand Action, and the students from Colorado high schools, most notably, East High, where the March shootings took place. 

They also praised Sullivan, who has been the driving voice behind measures that proponents say address gun violence. Sullivan was not able to attend the signing ceremonies on Friday.

Sen. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, and her daughter, Maisha, also won praise for being long-term advocates against gun violence. Field’s son and his fiance were murdered in 2005. 

Rep. Eliza Hamrick, D-Centennial, a former teacher at Overland High School, spoke about the trauma teachers, students and parents have experienced for the past 20 years from lockdown and active shooter drills. Some students have been experiencing those drills since preschool, she said.

“We shouldn’t have to live like this,” she said.

Senate Bill 170 seeks to expand the state’s Extreme Risk Protection Order, known as the red flag law, by allowing district attorneys, higher education faculty and school teachers, as well as mental health or medical professionals to seek red flag petitions that would remove firearms from someone deemed to be a danger to themselves or others.

The deadly Club Q shooting last November was part of the impetus for expanding the law, although the alleged shooter had a set of firearms removed under a restraining order a year before the shooting.

Attorney General Phil Weiser noted the room full of people who have experienced gun violence.

“There’s so much trauma in this room,” Weiser said. “We are living in a time where the Second Amendment has been taken to a place that makes no sense.”

He pledged that the work to reduce gun violence would continue.

Senate President Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder, said these bills “will save lives tomorrow.”

“I can’t wait to see what we do next year,” he added.

The final proposal from the package, House Bill 1219, creates a three-day waiting period for delivery of firearm after purchase. 

The package of legislation builds on previous work to address this public health crisis, said Rep. Meg Froelich, D-Englewood, one of the bill sponsors. She thanked the survivors who, “for too long, have had to lead” on this issue. 

“We have to work smart and work fast,” added Sen. Chris Hansen, D-Denver. 

In a statement, the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners said it filed two lawsuits against Polis in his official capacity as governor over HB 1219 and SB 169, calling the former unconstitutional and the latter a denial of adults’ right to purchase and possess guns.

Taylor Rhodes, the group’s executive director, said the bill’s backers “will not be happy until all law-abiding gun owners are disarmed, and only the criminals have guns.”

Dudley Brown, the group’s president, added, “Gun control extremists think they can play fast and loose with our constitutionally protected freedoms because of their large majorities, but as we have promised, we will not let that happen.”

“The idea that an 18-year-old can vote, serve on a jury that could send someone to jail for life, sign contracts, own property, and even be drafted into our nation’s military, but not be able to possess a basic hunting rifle is asinine,” he said. “Regardless of age, sex, race, religion, or creed, rights are rights and can’t be cherry-picked by bigoted politicians.” 

The four bills signed Friday formed a package announced in February to address gun violence. 

Another bill sponsored by Rep. Elisabeth Epps, D-Denver, to ban assault weapons died in a House committee last week. Polis expressed skepticism about a the efficacy of a state-level ban when asked about the policy this session. 

A sixth bill that aims to ban ghost guns cleared the state Senate on Friday on a 20-12 vote, with 11 Republicans and Sen. Kevin Priola, D-Henderson, voting against.

The final bill introduced this session is a measure to allow counties to prohibit the discharge of firearms in communities with 35 dwellings per acre. The measure has stalled in the Senate.