First Regular Session
Sixty-first General Assembly
LLS NO. 970360.01 MNC
HOUSE BILL 971067
STATE OF COLORADO
BY REPRESENTATIVE Chavez
JUDICIARY
A BILL FOR AN ACT
CONCERNING POSSESSION OF FIREARMS BY MINORS.
Bill Summary
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced
and does not necessarily reflect any amendments which may be subsequently
adopted.)
Makes possession by a juvenile of any firearm, as opposed to any handgun, a class 2 misdemeanor and a class 5 felony for any second or subsequent offense.
Makes providing to a juvenile any firearm, as opposed
to any handgun, a class 4 felony.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
SECTION 1. 1812108.5 (1), (2), and (3), Colorado Revised Statutes, 1986 Repl. Vol., as amended, are amended to read:
1812108.5. Possession of
firearms by juveniles prohibited exceptions
penalty. (1) (a) Except
as provided in this section, it is unlawful for any person who
has not attained the age of eighteen years knowingly to have any
handgun
FIREARM, AS DEFINED IN SECTION 181901 (3) (h),
in such person's possession.
(b) Any person possessing any handgun
FIREARM in violation of paragraph (a) of this subsection (1) commits
the offense of illegal possession of a handgun
FIREARM by a juvenile.
(c) (I) Illegal possession of a handgun
FIREARM by a juvenile is a class 2 misdemeanor.
(II) For any second or subsequent offense,
illegal possession of a handgun
FIREARM by a juvenile is a class 5 felony.
(d) Any person under the age of eighteen years who is taken into custody by a law enforcement officer for an offense pursuant to this section shall be taken into temporary custody in the manner described in section 192508, C.R.S.
(2) This section shall not apply to:
(a) Any person under the age of eighteen years who is:
(I) In attendance at a hunter's safety course or a firearms safety course; or
(II) Engaging in practice in the use of a firearm or target shooting at an established range authorized by the governing body of the jurisdiction in which such range is located or any other area where the discharge of a firearm is not prohibited; or
(III) Engaging in an organized competition
involving the use of a firearm or participating in or practicing
for a performance by an organized group under 501 (c) (3)
as determined by the federal internal revenue service which
THAT uses firearms as a part of such performance; or
(IV) Hunting or trapping pursuant to a valid license issued to such person pursuant to article 4 of title 33, C.R.S.; or
(V) Traveling with any handgun
FIREARM in such person's possession being unloaded to or from
any activity described in subparagraph (I), (II), (III), or (IV)
of this paragraph (a);
(b) Any person under the age of eighteen
years who is on real property under the control of such person's
parent, legal guardian, or grandparent and who has the permission
of such person's parent or legal guardian to possess a handgun
FIREARM;
(c) Any person under the age of eighteen
years who is at such person's residence and who, with the permission
of such person's parent or legal guardian, possesses a handgun
FIREARM for the purpose of exercising the rights contained in
section 181704 or section 181704.5.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2)
of this section, a handgun
FIREARM is "loaded" if:
(a) There is a cartridge in the chamber
of the handgun
FIREARM; or
(b) There is a cartridge in the cylinder
of the handgun
FIREARM, if the handgun
FIREARM is a revolver; or
(c) The handgun
FIREARM, and the ammunition for such handgun
FIREARM, is carried on the person of a person under the age of
eighteen years or is in such close proximity to such person that
such person could readily gain access to the handgun
FIREARM and the ammunition and load the handgun
FIREARM.
SECTION 2. 1812108.7, Colorado Revised Statutes, 1986 Repl. Vol., as amended, is amended to read:
1812108.7. Unlawfully providing
or permitting a juvenile to possess a firearm penalty.
(1) (a) Any person who intentionally, knowingly,
or recklessly provides a handgun
FIREARM, AS DEFINED IN SECTION 181901 (3) (h),
with or without remuneration to any person under the age of eighteen
years in violation of section 1812108.5 or any parent
or legal guardian of a person under eighteen years of age who
knows of such juvenile's conduct which
THAT violates section 1812108.5 and fails to make
reasonable efforts to prevent such violation commits the crime
of unlawfully providing or permitting a juvenile to possess a
handgun
FIREARM.
(b) Unlawfully providing or permitting
a juvenile to possess a handgun
FIREARM in violation of this subsection (1) is a class 4 felony.
(2) (a) Any parent or guardian who
intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly provides a handgun
FIREARM, AS DEFINED IN SECTION 181901 (3) (h),
to a juvenile or permits a juvenile to possess a handgun
FIREARM, even though such parent or guardian is aware of a substantial
risk that such juvenile will use a handgun
FIREARM to commit a felony offense, or who, being aware of such
substantial risk, fails to make reasonable efforts to prevent
the commission of the offense, commits the crime of unlawfully
providing or permitting a juvenile to possess a handgun
FIREARM. A parent or guardian shall be deemed to have violated
this paragraph (a) if such parent or guardian provides a handgun
FIREARM to or permits the possession of a handgun
FIREARM by any juvenile who has been convicted of a crime of violence,
as defined in section 1611309, C.R.S., or any juvenile
who has been adjudicated a juvenile delinquent for an offense
which would constitute a crime of violence, as defined in section
1611309, C.R.S., if such juvenile were an adult.
(b) Unlawfully providing or permitting
a juvenile to possess a handgun
FIREARM in violation of this subsection (2) is a class 4 felony.
SECTION 3. 192508 (3) (a) (III) (C), Colorado Revised Statutes, 1986 Repl. Vol., as amended, is amended to read:
192508. Detention and shelter hearing time limits confinement with adult offenders restrictions. (3) (a) (III) With respect to this section, the court may further detain the juvenile if the court is satisfied from the information provided at the hearing that the juvenile is a danger to himself or herself or to the community. Any information having probative value shall be received regardless of its admissibility under the rules of evidence. In determining whether a juvenile requires detention, the court shall consider any record of any prior adjudications of the juvenile. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a juvenile is a danger to himself or herself or to the community if:
(C) The juvenile is alleged to have committed
possessing a dangerous or illegal weapon, as described in section
1812102, C.R.S.; possession of a defaced firearm,
as described in section 1812103, C.R.S.; unlawfully
carrying a concealed weapon, as described in section 1812105,
C.R.S.; unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon on school, college,
or university grounds, as described in section 1812105.5,
C.R.S.; prohibited use of weapons, as described in section 1812106,
C.R.S.; illegal discharge of a firearm, as described in section
1812107.5, C.R.S.; or illegal possession of a handgun
FIREARM by a juvenile, as described in section 1812108.5,
C.R.S.
SECTION 4. Effective date applicability. This act shall take effect July 1, 1997, and shall apply to offenses committed on or after said date.
SECTION 5. Safety clause. The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety.