Enforcement light on Colo. gun restrictions

Twenty months into implementation, Colorado's controversial gun-control laws are mostly unenforceable and have done little to nothing to attain bill sponsors' goals, according to gun rights advocates and statewide data.

Three people have been convicted for failing to obey the new background check laws since a bill to expand the requirements went into effect in July 2013. Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith said nobody accused of breaking the new laws had been booked into the Larimer County Detention Center.

And like purchasing fireworks illegal in Colorado, gun enthusiasts are skirting a ban on high-capacity magazines by crossing into Wyoming to buy magazines that hold more than 15 rounds.

"It's made some people feel safer, certainly. But it's a feel-good bill. I'm personally sick and tired of feel-good laws," said Tim Brough of Fort Collins, owner of Rocky Mountain Shooters Supply, 3507 E. Mulberry St.

Despite claims of the laws' failure, Democrats who were largely behind the changes say the new laws are keeping guns out of criminals' hands.

"It's evident that it's been useful and effective in denying people who shouldn't have firearms," said Sen. John Kefalas, D-Fort Collins, who supported both bills. "I respect the right for citizens to have firearms. That's something we've tried to uphold. I think now we need to continue to focus on behavioral and mental health, (so) that people can get the treatment and care they need."

Colorado Republicans and Fort Collins gun shop owners argue that the laws infringe upon the right of gun ownership without improving public safety. They've also done little to change the availability of high-capacity magazines to gun owners willing to drive for them.

Managing magazines

Rifles on the shelves in Brough's store are missing their characteristic 30-round magazines, but Brough said his gun inventory is "exactly the same" as before the 2013 laws went into effect. His store still sells about 100 guns each week, as many as ever, and if people want large-capacity magazines, they know where to buy them: in bordering states like Wyoming or Nebraska.

Northern Colorado residents can make the 40-mile drive to gun shops like Frontier Arms in Cheyenne, where owner Ryan Allen said sales of high-capacity magazines have increased substantially in the wake of Colorado's ban. He added Colorado residents are ultimately responsible for what they do with firearms and magazines purchased in Wyoming.

"The customer is on their own to get high-cap magazines if they choose to do that. But now they are illegally obtaining them. It's turned the regular law-abiding class into criminals, at some level," Brough said. "Is the state enforcing it? My understanding is no."

Before the 2013 enactment of the new gun laws, Rocky Mountain Shooters Supply and other firearms dealers across the state saw a rush of Coloradans purchasing 30-round magazines. It's America's "bigger is better" mentality that feeds the passion for large-capacity magazines, Brough said.

"There's a fun factor, a defensive factor and a competitive factor," said Brough, whose store has an indoor, eight-lane shooting range.

People are there, shooting every day, he said.

Last week, Nyles Ward of Fort Collins and his future son-in-law Brandon Stagner shopped at Rocky Mountain Shooters Supply, browsing shotguns and AR-15 rifles. Ward, a former Marine, is a gun collector who years ago inherited an AK-47 from his father.

He said the new gun laws haven't affected him much, and though he has owned guns with 30-round magazines, he prefers to shoot with magazines of 10 rounds at a time.

In north Fort Collins, Jax Outdoor Gear, 1200 N. College Ave., caters more to hunters, who don't generally use high-capacity magazines.

During a recent hearing at the Legislature, Sen. John Cooke, a Republican and former Weld County sheriff, held an ammunition magazine as he argued for repeal of the law.

"It's an inanimate object," Cooke said of the magazine. "This is not evil. What is evil is in the hearts and the minds of men, and that's what we need to work on."

Background checks

From July 2013 through February 2015, the state conducted more than 512,028 background checks for gun transfers made at licensed gun dealers' stores, at gun shows or between private parties. About 24,000 background checks were conducted on private transfers during that time, about 5 percent of the state's total.

Because of the way the Colorado Bureau of Investigation processes private sales — lumping together online sales and those made at gun shows, for which background checks were required before the 2013 law changes — the exact number of background checks that are directly attributable to the new law is unclear.

Statewide, law-enforcement officials in numerous counties have vowed to refrain from enforcing the laws.

Smith said the private transfer of firearms had never been a concern of local law enforcement, and without required registration of firearms, deputies have no way of knowing whether someone sidestepped the background check requirement to obtain a firearm.

The only situation he could remember when he knew firearms were transferred between private parties without background checks was during the chaos of the 2013 flood when people stored firearms at homes of their friends and families. The law does include a provision allowing owners to gift a gun to an immediate family member.

Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck, now a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, said at the time he would not prosecute those affected by the flood for transferring their firearms for safekeeping.

Smith agreed.

"Technically, yes that would be a violation, but that isn't something we're concerned about during a tragic time," said Smith, who, in summer 2013 joined the majority of the state's sheriffs in an unsuccessful lawsuit that challenged the laws as being in violation of the Second Amendment.

Supporters of the background check law point to Colorado Bureau of Investigation data showing that in the first year of the law, there were 68 denials for private sales after background checks were performed at gun shows and another 98 denials for private purchases outside gun shows.

The denials were for people with previous charges that included sex offenses, restraining orders and assaults. From July 2013 through February 2015 in Colorado, there were 10,412 total denials from all background checks, which totaled 512,028, resulting in 2 percent of all background checks being denied.

Colorado is among 17 states and Washington, D.C., that require background checks to be performed on sales made at gun shows. Buyers at the remaining 33 states are not subject to background checks for purchases made at gun shows or through anonymous online transactions.

This month, holding a majority in the Senate, Republicans approved repeals of the magazine ban and background check expansion. Their wins could be short-lived, however, as the two repeals are unlikely to pass the Democrat-controlled house.

"I think that they (background checks) are getting a little far fetched," Ward said. "If you don't know the person, then yes, do the background check. I have no problem with that. But with my best friend? He's like family. All our guns are going to be in the same circle of trust."

Xplore reporter Stephen Meyers covers the outdoors and recreation for the Coloradoan. Follow him on Twitter @stemeyer or Facebook.com/meyersreports.