HB1021, titled the "Second Amendment Protection Act," would substantially repeal and rewrite a wide range of Colorado firearms laws. As introduced, it removes or weakens numerous state restrictions and regulatory programs covering firearm possession, carry, sales, transfers, storage, magazines, semiautomatic firearms, gun shows, firearm dealer licensing, payment-card merchant coding for firearms, and local government authority to regulate firearms. It also repeals the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, the firearms training and safety course cash fund, and the voluntary waiver of the right to purchase a firearm program, while directing the state treasurer to return certain fees, gifts, grants, and donations associated with those repealed programs.
The bill also recreates Colorado product-liability rules for firearms and ammunition, limiting civil claims against manufacturers, importers, distributors, and sellers largely to cases involving an actual defect in design or manufacture or a violation of state or federal law. It would bar many tort theories based on the inherent dangerousness of firearms or ammunition and require dismissal, with attorney fees, for prohibited claims. In addition, the bill changes several criminal, juvenile, and protection-order provisions tied to firearms, including rules for relinquishment of firearms in protection-order and domestic-violence cases, and it narrows or repeals several offenses and reporting requirements related to firearm purchases, storage, and transfers.
The bill’s impact on state law would be broad and structural. It would repeal or amend dozens of statutes across titles 1, 6, 11, 13, 16, 18, 19, 22, 24, 25, 29, 33, and 39, shifting Colorado away from many existing firearm restrictions and from local control over firearm regulation. It would also redefine certain enforcement and background-check rules, alter concealed-carry and school/property restrictions, and remove several state-level policy tools used in firearm regulation and violence-prevention efforts.
The general sentiment reflected in the bill text is strongly pro-firearm-rights and anti-regulation. The legislative declaration argues that recent Colorado gun laws are unconstitutional, harmful to law-abiding citizens, and inconsistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bruen decision. In the available voting history, the bill did not advance: House Judiciary first voted 7-2 to refer it to Appropriations, then 7-2 to postpone it indefinitely, which effectively killed the bill in committee. That outcome suggests limited support in committee despite the bill’s clear ideological framing.
The main points of contention are the bill’s sweeping repeal of gun-control measures, its restriction of local authority, and its rollback of programs and requirements related to safe storage, background checks, age limits, magazine restrictions, and firearm-related enforcement. Supporters of the bill would likely view these changes as restoring constitutional rights and limiting overreach, while opponents would likely focus on public-safety concerns, the loss of local regulatory flexibility, and the elimination of existing safeguards and prevention programs. The product-liability provisions are also likely to be controversial because they would significantly limit civil remedies against firearm industry actors.
HB1021 would repeal or amend a large number of Colorado statutes governing firearms, ammunition, concealed carry, dealer regulation, local firearm ordinances, background checks, storage, age limits, magazine restrictions, and related enforcement. It would also repeal the Office of Gun Violence Prevention and associated funding mechanisms, while directing the return of certain fees and donations tied to repealed programs. The bill would significantly narrow civil liability exposure for firearm and ammunition manufacturers, importers, distributors, and sellers, and it would alter several criminal, juvenile, and protection-order provisions that currently require firearm relinquishment or impose firearm-related penalties.
The most contentious issues are the bill’s broad repeal of firearm restrictions, its preemption of local gun regulations, and its rollback of laws affecting schools, polling places, government buildings, child care centers, concealed carry, magazine limits, safe storage, and background checks. Opponents would likely object to the loss of public-safety protections and local control, while supporters would argue the laws infringe on constitutional rights and burden lawful gun owners. The bill’s product-liability rewrite is another major flashpoint because it would sharply limit lawsuits against the firearms industry and shift the grounds on which claims can be brought.