Jun 19, 2021 - Politics

Colorado governor signs 3 gun reform bills into law

Rebecca Falconer

Gov. Jared Polis is in west step of State Capital building for Colorado for Statewide Evening of Remembrance in Denver, Colorado on Friday, March 5, 2021. — Gov. Jared Polis during a speech at the State Capitol building in Denver, Colorado, in March. Photo: Hyoung Chang/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed three gun reform bills into law Saturday.

Driving the news: Colorado lawmakers announced the measures following a shooting in a March Boulder grocery store that left 10 people dead. But Boulder Rep. Judy Amabile (D), a sponsor of one of the bills, said the legislation "isn't just about mass shootings," per the Denver Post.

"It's about what we sadly call everyday gun violence," Amabile said. "Every day, people are dying all across our state from homicides, from accidents, from mass shootings and mostly from suicide."

Details: The trio of legislation expands firearm background checks, creates a dedicated office for gun violence prevention and allows municipalities to have even stricter gun laws than the state, per Axios' Alayna Alvarez.

Of note: The new laws came as police in the state responded to two separate shootings that left five people wounded overnight in Colorado Springs.

In the first incident, police said in a Twitter post that three people under the age of 18 were taken to a hospital Friday night with "serious but non life-threatening" injuries following a shooting at The Citadel mall.
The second shooting at Boston Market resulted in two people being taken to a hospital, police said. Their injuries were described as serious, but non-life threatening.

Go deeper: Colorado gun debate sparks sharp words from GOP lawmakers

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Colorado governor signs 3 gun reform bills into law

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