More than a dozen new state laws passed during this year鈥檚 legislative session will take effect Monday, including politically-charged measures intended to curb gun violence and increase housing density.
Gun ban for 鈥渟ensitive spaces鈥�
The , one of eight gun laws passed this year, will prohibit Coloradans from carrying guns in so-called 鈥渟ensitive spaces,鈥� including schools, childcare facilities, polling places, courthouses and certain government buildings.
鈥淭his bill would restrict firearms in locations where emotions can run high or where children are largely present,鈥� State Sen Sonya Jaquez-Lewis, one of the lawmakers behind the measure, said. 鈥淕un violence has taken far too many lives in communities all across Colorado, which is why we鈥檙e working to create safe places.鈥�
The law will prohibit both open and concealed carry in the specified locations, and anyone found violating the measure will be charged with a class 1 misdemeanor along with almost a year in jail or up to $1,000 in fines. It offers exemptions for law enforcement officers, active duty military members, and security personnel.
The rules will also apply to public and private colleges, including the University of Colorado鈥檚 campuses. Earlier this year, students and faculty there called on university leadership to implement a campus-wide concealed carry ban.
鈥淚 don't think that I have been to any public meeting where students, faculty, doctors, staff, from each of our campuses have not come in mass, and have asked us to bring this forth for a vote,鈥� CU Regent Wanda James told KUNC earlier this month. 鈥淚t's time for us to start to change how we talk about access to, to where guns are allowed in our society.鈥�
The Board of Regents voted against a university-level ban last week, however, deciding instead to rely on the new state law.
High-school students staged a protest at the statehouse this spring and directly called on the legislature to pass the 鈥渟ensitive spaces鈥� measure. The State Capitol building itself is included in the ban, where some lawmakers have regularly carried firearms. Legislators, however, will not be subject to the law until next January.
The original version of the legislation also included bars, sporting events and amusement parks in its list of 鈥渟ensitive spaces.鈥� It did not, and does not, include movie theaters or grocery stores, even though such locations are where two of Colorado鈥檚 most deadly mass shootings took place. In 2012, a gunman opened fire in an Aurora movie theater, and, in 2021, in a Boulder King Soopers grocery store.
Other new gun laws passed this year increase requirements for safe gun storage in cars, expand the Colorado Bureau of Investigation鈥檚 ability to investigate gun crimes, and require credit card companies to assign a specific code for gun purchases.
Republicans and gun-rights groups oppose the measures and see them as incremental steps eroding Second Amendment rights for Coloradans.
Voters will also decide in November whether to approve a ballot measure that would impose an excise tax on firearms and ammunition sold in Colorado in order to fund school safety, behavioral health care and crime victim services.
No more occupancy limits
Another taking effect Monday will block counties and municipalities from enforcing existing occupancy limits or enacting new ones. About a dozen communities in Colorado will no longer be able to limit the number of unrelated people who can live together under the new law, including in Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins. Commissioners in Boulder County eliminated its five-person occupancy limit this week ahead of the measure taking effect.
In Fort Collins, where just three people can live together under the city鈥檚 U+2 ordinance, some residents were opposed to a one-size-fits all approach to occupancy limits from the state. Some also worried it could ruin the town鈥檚 character.
鈥淭he government shouldn't be determining who you live with. It's a basic common core value,鈥� Gov Jared Polis told KUNC. 鈥淸This law] allows for making sure people are part of the official economy, the above ground economy, rather than just trying to be somebody's roommate on the down-low, because the government says 'Sorry, I don't value the relationship you have.'鈥�
Opposition to the law in Fort Collins highlights the conflict in Colorado between those who want to see local control of land-use and housing rules and those who want state-wide action to address the housing crisis.
Fort Collins is also home to a number of colleges and universities, however, and students are big supporters of removing occupancy limits.
鈥淥n top of the normal stresses of college life, I've had to deal with an entirely other set of challenges because of arbitrary and discriminatory occupancy limits,鈥� Chase Cromwell, a senior at the University of Colorado Boulder, said when the law was signed by Gov. Polis this spring. 鈥淭hanks to this new law, we will no longer have to worry every day that our neighbors will report us, that the city will show up to count toothbrushes and pillows.鈥�
The measure is part of Gov. Jared Polis鈥� strategy to increase housing inventory and lower the housing costs by letting individuals use existing units by removing local limits on the number of people that can live in a single house.
In 2023, Polis and Democratic lawmakers in the House of Representatives packed multiple, statewide housing reforms into one sweeping bill, which drew vehement opposition from local governments. The bill ultimately died in the Senate because Democrats could not agree on how much the state should override local housing policy, even though they held a strong majority in both chambers.
Lawmakers split up the elements of the 2023 bill into several measures that they were able to pass, including the law removing occupancy limits. Other measures address housing density around public transportation, accessory dwelling units or ADUs, parking requirements and short-term rentals.
More new laws
Two other significant laws going into effect Monday deal with election integrity and suicide prevention.
will make it a crime to falsify votes from the electoral college during a presidential race. The measure is, in part, a response to the 2020 election when supporters of former President Donald Trump organized fake electors in an attempt to change that election鈥檚 outcome.
will limit the sale of sodium nitrate, a substance that has increasingly been used in suicide attempts. It is usually used in small amounts as a food additive and is easily accessible online. Starting Monday, only companies with a proven need for the substance will be allowed to buy it in concentrations over 10%.
Other laws will to include those based on transgender identities, , and in the governor鈥檚 administration to support disabled Coloradans.
