OUR WORK
We have worked towards gun sense in America. Here are some projects we have worked on in the past. To see what we are currently working on, visit our GET INVOLVED page!
PAST WORK
Annual Gun Violence Summit
This past October, the Denver SDA Coalition hosted its third annual Gun Violence Summit. This is a space for our communities to come together and talk about gun violence. We have hosted panels including State Senators, Denver Police Chief, District Representatives, and many more!
Advocacy Day
Advocacy is a gathering of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers and survivors of gun violence from across the state to hold lawmakers to account. Volunteers meet at the state capitol, chapters review their priorities, like engaging in their communities or building local partnerships. We also go over our asks for lawmakers, including bills volunteers want to see passed (or blocked) in that legislative session. Gun-sense lawmakers and survivors of gun violence will often make speeches during this time. Once people are in the Capitol building, we disperse to meet with lawmakers to discuss legislative asks!
Tanner Gun Show
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It’s easy. Just click “Edit Text” or double click me to add your own content and make changes to the font. Feel free to drag and drop me anywhere you like on your page.
This is a great space to write long text about your company and your services. You can use this space to go into a little more detail about your company. Talk about your team and what services you provide.
ERPO Training
Members of East SDA helped coordinate an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) training for East's Leadership Team in collaboration with the Denver Police Department. ERPOs are a legal form of temporary restriction to access to guns for individuals who have demonstrated that they’re at risk for harming themselves or others, at the suggestion of professionals such as law enforcement and health care professionals.
In 2024, Colorado's ERPO law was expanded to include teachers and other school employees. This training helped us understand what role East staff can play in preventing gun violence through early intervention.
Voter Registration Drive
Every year Students Demand Action chapters in our coalition host voter registration drives to help young voters register and pre-register.
Are you 16 or older? Register to vote in Colorado
Eliza Pickrell Routt
East has been awarded the Eliza Pickrell Routt award for the last three years. This award, named after Eliza Pickrell Routt, the first woman registered to vote in Colorado after the state's passage of women's suffrage in 1893, is given to Colorado high schools that have 85% or more of eligible seniors registered to vote.
IN THE CAPITOL
Students Demand Action members have testified in support or opposition to the following Colorado bills
SB25-003 - Passed
Support - Semiautomatic Firearms & Rapid-Fire Devices
The bill prohibits the manufacture, sale, or transfer of specified semiautomatic firearms, with exceptions for transfers to heirs, out-of-state individuals, or federally licensed dealers. Violations are punishable as misdemeanors or felonies, with penalties including permit revocation for dealers and firearm transfer denials for certain offenders. The bill also classifies rapid-fire devices as dangerous weapons and removes machine gun conversion devices from this category.
HB24-1348 - Active
Support – Secure Firearm Storage in Vehicle
The act prohibits knowingly leaving a handgun in an unattended vehicle unless the handgun is stored in a locked hard-sided container that is placed out of plain view and the container is in a locked vehicle, the locked trunk of the locked vehicle, or a locked recreational vehicle.
HB24-1292 - Did Not Pass
Support - Prohibit Certain Weapons Used in Mass Shootings
The bill defines the term "assault weapon" and prohibits a person from manufacturing, importing, purchasing, selling, offering to sell, or transferring ownership of an assault weapon. The bill further prohibits a person from possessing a rapid-fire trigger activator
SB24-131 - Active
Support - Prohibiting Carrying Firearms in Sensitive Spaces
The act prohibits a person from knowingly carrying a firearm, both openly and concealed, in the government buildings, including their adjacent parking areas: State legislative buildings, building of a local government's governing body, courthouse, child care center, public or private elementary, middle, junior high, high, or vocational school; or any public or private college, university, or seminary
HB24-1270 - Did Not Pass
Support - Firearm Liability Insurance Requirement
The bill requires firearm owners to maintain liability insurance covering damages from accidental or unintentional firearm discharges. Failure to do so results in fines. A court can excuse a person from the requirement if they demonstrate safe firearm practices. Insurers must offer coverage through homeowners or renters insurance, but cannot require specific firearm details when issuing policies.
HB24-1353 - In Effect July 1, 2025
Support - Firearms Dealer Requirements & Permit
Fiearm dealers in Colorado must obtain a state permit to operate, with penalties for operating without one. To qualify, dealers must hold a federal firearms license and meet other legal requirements, with a $400 permit fee and a 3-year validity. Dealers must also undergo annual training, conduct inspections, and report firearm theft or illegal transfers. The act includes strict regulations on firearm handling, employee background checks, and penalties for violations, including permit suspension or revocation.
SB24-066 - Active
Support - Firearms Merchant Category Code
The act requires certain networks that facilitate payment transactions to make the merchant category code for firearms and ammunition available to merchant acquirers (processor) who process transactions for firearms merchants. A processor must assign the code to each firearms merchant to which the processor provides services.
HB24-1174 - In Effect July 1, 2025
Support – Concealed Carry Permits & Training
An applicant for a permit to carry a concealed handgun (permit) may demonstrate competence with a handgun by completing a training class only if the class satisfies the minimum standards for a training class and the applicant completes the class within one year before submitting an application for a permit. The act also allows a person to demonstrate competence with a handgun for the purpose of obtaining a permit by holding a current certification as a peace officer.
SB24-003 - Active
Support – CBI Authority to Investigate Firearms Crimes, Testimony
The act authorizes the Colorado bureau of investigation to investigate particular illegal activity involving firearms statewide. An agent or other employee of the bureau who is a peace officer shall wear and activate a body-worn camera when conducting any public-facing part of an investigation authorized in the act.
HB23-1044 - Did Not Pass
Opposition – Second Amendment Preservation Act
The bill states that any federal act, law, executive order, administrative order, rule, and regulation (federal laws) that is, or accomplishes, any of the following is an infringement on the right to bear arms in Colorado: tracking, prohibition, confiscation, taxing, etc.
HB23-1050 - Did Not Pass
Opposition – Protection Of Business From Unlawful Entry
The bill extends the right to use deadly physical force against an intruder under certain conditions to include owners, managers, and employees of a business and to any person in lawful possession of a firearm at a place of business.
SB23-169 - Active
Support - Increasing Minimum Age To Purchase Firearms
The act increases the age to legally purchase a firearm from 18 to 21 years of age or older. The act makes the unlawful purchase of a firearm by a person who is less than 21 years of age a class 2 misdemeanor and makes it unlawful for a licensed or unlicensed gun dealer to facilitate such a sale
HB23-1219 - Active
Support - Waiting Period To Deliver A Firearm
The act establishes a waiting period before a firearms seller may deliver a firearm to a purchaser. The waiting period is the later in time of 3 days after the initiation of a required background check of the purchaser or when the purchase is approved following any background check. Delivering a firearm prior to the expiration of the waiting period is a civil infraction, punishable by a $500 fine for a first offense and a $500 to $5,000 fine for a second or subsequent offense.
SB23-170 - Active
Support - Extreme Risk Protection Order Petitions
Under current law a family or household member and a law enforcement officer or agency can petition for an extreme risk protection order. The act expands the list of who can petition for an extreme risk protection order to include licensed medical care providers, licensed mental health-care providers, licensed educators, and district attorneys.
SB23-168 - Active
Support - Gun Violence Victims' Access To Judicial System
The act defines the terms "firearm industry member" (industry member) and "firearm industry product" (industry product) and requires each industry member that is engaged in the manufacture, distribution, importation, marketing, or wholesale or retail sale of an industry product in Colorado to establish and implement reasonable controls and precautions related to the industry product in its control.
SB23-279 - Active
Support - Unserialized Firearms And Firearm Components
The act regulates the possession, sale, and transfer of unfinished firearm frames or receivers, requiring them to be serialized by January 1, 2024. It establishes penalties for unlawful conduct, including misdemeanor and felony charges, and mandates that privately manufactured firearms be serialized. The act also prohibits firearm transfers to individuals with certain convictions involving unserialized firearms and defines "machine gun conversion devices" as dangerous weapons under Colorado law.
HB23-1230 - Did Not Pass
Support - Prohibit Assault Weapons In Colorado
The bill defines the term "assault weapon" and prohibits a person from manufacturing, importing, purchasing, selling, offering to sell, or transferring ownership of an assault weapon. The bill further prohibits a person from possessing a rapid-fire trigger activator. A violation is a class 2 misdemeanor.
SB23-279 - Active
Support - Unserialized Firearms And Firearm Components
The act regulates the possession, sale, and transfer of unfinished firearm frames or receivers, requiring them to be serialized by January 1, 2024. It establishes penalties for unlawful conduct, including misdemeanor and felony charges, and mandates that privately manufactured firearms be serialized. The act also prohibits firearm transfers to individuals with certain convictions involving unserialized firearms and defines "machine gun conversion devices" as dangerous weapons under Colorado law.
