The Colorado chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety, released the following statements today after the Colorado Senate passed SB21-078, which would require gun owners to report to law enforcement when a gun is lost or stolen. The bill goes next to the House of Representatives.
“The Senate voted today to protect Coloradans from gun violence,” said Mary Parker, volunteer with Colorado Moms Demand Action. “As a gun owner I know that reporting lost and stolen guns to law enforcement will help prevent stolen guns from being used in crimes and prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands. We stand with the Senate in their efforts to fight against gun violence, and look forward to continuing these efforts in the House.”
“Requiring gun owners to report lost and stolen guns is common sense. We thank the Senate for working to keep guns out of the wrong hands and will continue our fight until this bill is on the governor’s desk and signed into law,” said Jayla Hemphill, a volunteer with Students Demand Action at the Northfield High School in Denver. “This is an important step toward ending the gun violence epidemic.”
What to know about lost and stolen firearms:
- Gun thefts occur in staggering numbers. Hundreds of thousands of guns are stolen every year, taken from houses, vehicles, and stores.
- Gun thefts often divert guns into an underground market where people with dangerous histories are easily able to obtain firearms without restriction. That is why stolen guns are often recovered at crime scenes, including at the scenes of homicides and other violent crimes. The majority of the 23,000 stolen firearms in the U.S. recovered by police between 2010 and 2016 were recovered in connection with crimes, including more than 1,500 violent acts.
- Research suggests that individuals who are prohibited from possessing guns may utilize the underground market to obtain guns, since they are unable to purchase them legally.
Statistics about gun violence in Colorado are available here, and information on how Colorado’s gun laws compare to other states’ overall is available here.
