Colorado lawmakers face a new rule this year: They can no longer bring guns into the State Capitol.
The ban is part of a state law passed last year that generally prohibits carrying guns in so-called “sensitive spaces,” including government buildings, polling places, childcare facilities and schools. The law went into effect for most locations over the summer.
“It’s not good to have firearms and heated political discussions in the same room, and I feel safer,” said Democratic Rep. Kyle Brown of Louisville, one of the lawmakers behind the law.
The Capitol gun ban took effect this month, and it’s based on an honor system. The law didn’t come with any additional security or regular enforcement.
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Average Coloradans haven’t been allowed to bring guns into the statehouse for a long time. Capitol visitors must go through a metal detector to get inside.
Lawmakers, however, get to skip the security screening.
Democratic Sen. Chris Kolker of Centennial, another one of the law’s primary sponsors, said he is trusting his colleagues to do the right thing.
“Can legislators still bring them in without us knowing? Yes,” Kolker said. “But then they will be violating the law, and if you’re for law and order, you won’t be violating the law.”
Fliers are posted at entrances to the building to remind lawmakers of the ban, and the State Patrol, which oversees statehouse security, notified lawmakers of the change ahead of the legislative session.
The expanded gun ban was included in the law in part because of repeated incidents of lawmakers mishandling firearms on the Capitol grounds three years in a row.
Last spring, then-Rep. Don Wilson, a Republican, left a firearm unattended in a public bathroom. In 2023, two guns belonging to Republican Rep. Ron Weinberg of Loveland were stolen out of his truck parked outside the Capitol building, and in 2022, then Rep. Richard Holtorf, also a Republican, accidentally dropped his gun in the lobby of the House chamber.
“We have the State Patrol here protecting us,” said Brown. “Let’s leave the security of our building up to the professionals.”
Republican lawmakers feel differently. For Rep. Matt Soper of Delta, the ban is an infringement on state and federal constitutional rights to bear arms.
“We can carry outside the building. We can carry all around Denver, throughout the state, especially concealed carry. But why not in the Capitol?” said Soper. “As a public official, oftentimes we have threats against us, and it’s really important that we’re able to protect ourselves, our family and those around us.”
The “sensitive spaces” law passed along party lines last year, with Republicans opposed. The measure is one of several high-profile gun control measures the Democratic majority has passed in recent years.
This year, lawmakers are expected to debate more restrictions on guns, including a measure that would make it illegal to buy, sell, transfer or manufacture certain guns capable of accepting detachable ammunition magazines.
This story was produced by the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Funding for the Alliance is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.