The 2023 session saw Democratic lawmakers approve five measures that could move Colorado into a stronger position as a leader on gun safety laws.

But the reluctance by Democrats, including Gov. Jared Polis, on an assault weapons ban will likely keep the state off the leaderboard.

Two years ago, Colorado got a “C+” from Giffords, the national legal nonprofit that promotes gun safety legislation.

While the organization ranked Colorado in the Top 16 of states with strong gun control laws, its middle-of-the-pack grade at that time was due to what it didn’t have: waiting periods for firearms sales, a law raising the legal age to purchase to 21, and a requirement for lost or stolen guns to be reported.

After passing a law that allowed local jurisdictions to pass stricter gun control laws and adding laws on reporting lost or stolen guns, Colorado improved to a “B” in the 2022 report. 

It noted Colorado ranked 14th on strength of gun laws, but had more gun deaths per 100,000 population than any of its peer states.

Only two states, California and New Jersey, have earned the highest grade, an “A”, from Giffords. Six others earned an “A-” from Giffords in its 2022 report. 

Twenty-six states are ranked “F,” including Colorado border neighbors Wyoming, Utah, Kansas, Oklahoma and nearby Texas. 

After the group’s 2023 report was released, Democratic lawmakers in Colorado’s General Assembly added five new gun control laws to the mix, four which have been signed by the governor.

Four of the five were mentioned in the Giffords report as laws that would improve Colorado’s ranking.

What wasn’t on the list of bills passed: a ban on assault weapons. 

Nine states, with Illinois becoming the ninth just this week, have assault weapons bans on their books. Eight of the nine are ranked at “A” or “A-” by Giffords.

The idea been floating around the Capitol for several years, with louder calls coming after the King Soopers shooting in 2021.

But with Polis’ current stance on assault weapons, that may prove elusive.

In January, following his State of the State address in which he called for a stronger red flag law and the ghost gun ban, he told reporters he believed red flag laws would work better than an assault weapons ban.

Polis, as a member of Congress, co-sponsored a bill banning assault weapons. But that’s something better left to the federal government than the states, he indicated in January. “There’s limits to what states can do,” the governor said. 

As an example, he mentioned universal background checks.

“We’re proud of our universal background checks in Colorado, it’s a good system,” he said. “But even if you’re a convicted felon in Colorado, you can drive an hour and a half to an open air show in Wyoming and with no background check at all, purchase several weapons and bring them back to Colorado.”

Senate President Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder, in whose hometown the King Soopers shooting took place, took a similar position in 2021. 

Though an assault weapons ban is among the policies advocated for by Giffords, Allison Anderman, senior counsel and director of local policy at the origination, pointed to a few other laws that aren’t yet in Colorado’s toolbox.

“Colorado has done a tremendous amount in the last three years to make its residents safer from gun violence,” Anderman told Colorado Politics, pointing to what she calls “fundamental laws” such as red flag; closing the “Charleston loophole,” which made the state’s laws on background checks stronger; repealing state preemption; raising the legal age; adding a waiting period; and laws passed in 2021 tied to issues around firearms for those who commit domestic violence. 

“Colorado has increased the strength of its gun laws more than any other state over the last few years,” she added.

But there’s more than can be done for Colorado to catch up to national leaders, Anderman said, including an assault weapons ban.

She also pointed to laws in other states such as “permit to purchase,” a license that must be issued prior to purchasing a firearm. In Oregon, where voters approved it via ballot measure in 2022, an applicant must first complete a certified firearms safety course, complete a permit application with local law enforcement, which includes a national and state background check. 

Johns Hopkins School of Public Health said recently that permits to purchase is an effective way to reduce gun violence, particularly for firearm homicides and suicides.

States vary on the types of firearms covered under “permit to purchase,” with some limited to handguns and others applying it to any firearm.

Other potential policies Anderman cited is tied to hate crimes as a prohibitor of sales of firearms.

So is Colorado a leader in gun control laws?

To that, David Kopel of the Independence Institute says: “Sure, we are a leader, similar to the 1920s when the Klan was very influential in Colorado’s government and Colorado became one of the first states to ban gun possession by non-citizens.” That law, however, was struck down in the 1930s by the state Supreme Court. 

But whether Colorado should aspire to that, Kopel added: “It’s contrary to the text of Colorado’s constitution, which states the right to keep and bear arms in the strongest language ever used in a constitution at the time.”

“Let’s stop while we’re ahead,” Kopel added.