Some CSSA (CO NRA state affiliate) clarification on recently passed SB154 - the law which restricted Denver's confiscatory ordinances ... without comment - for now.
AA/labgrade
"-----Original Message-----
From: DEKE44
I'm going to include you out-of-state guys in this as well as the Colorado folk, as you may need the information if you happen to travel through Denver.
As you Colorado folk know, we got SB154 passed this year to take the heat off folks who had need to travel through Denver and avoid their confiscation ordinance. It makes having a firearm in a car "shall not be an offense" rather than the old "affirmative defense." It also defines "traveling" as being basically the crossing of jurisdictional lines. As usual, Denver tries to put its own spin on every law, and the cop shop now has new guidelines,
which are, to sum up, as follows:
Carrying a concealed weapon in Denver is legal, as long as it is carried concealed in a "private means of conveyance" (which includes cars, pickups, horses, bikes, motorcycles, e.g., but does not include cabs, buses, trains, hired limos or other public means of conveyance) and the person is
traveling into or out of Denver across a line of jurisdiction (read city limit),
regardless of how many times the person stops in either jurisdiction, and the
person is carrying for legal protection of self, property, or other persons.
The firearm may concealed anywhere in the vehicle including concealed on the person, and applies to anyone in the vehicle, driver or passenger. It may be on the seat or in the operator's lap, as long as it is shielded from view, even by a newspaper or cloth. It may also be loaded and in Condition I.
The burden of proof is now on the officer to show the person stopped was not traveling across a city border or was not carrying for lawful protection.
Seems to me this would be damned tough. The law applies if the driver began his trip outside Denver and comes into Denver, or starts his drive in Denver and goes to another town, even if he has not yet reached the Denver border.
Now comes the kicker: The City of Denver does not believe the changed law applies to UNCONCEALED GUNS! They believe this is still illegal unless the person is under direct and immediate threat of harm to himself or property and is traveling away from his home or business or, he is traveling to or from hunting, sport shooting or target shooting, purchase of the firearm, display of the gun for sale, repair of the gun or gunsmithing, and it is UNLOADED! or,
he is moving his personal property including the gun from one residence to a new one or,
he's a member of armed forces or called by law enforcement to assist in law enforcement and is carrying the firearm for duty.
Carrying firearms outside of the vehicle, concealed or unconcealed is still illegal, unless the person has a concealed-carry permit or is a peace officer. If you're carrying your firearm to your car to go target shooting, hunting, etc., it must be unloaded.
Possession of prohibited firearms under Denver's "Assault Weapon" ordinance is still illegal in Denver. So is possession of a magazine capable of holding 21 or more rounds. In other words, don't throw your 30-round M1 magazine into the car if you're going to cross Denver jurisdictional
lines.
Don't hang the old .30-30 lever-action back on the gun rack in the pickup rear window. I, of course, always used to do this just to piss 'em off. Finally had to get a behind-the-seat-back sheath for it.
The obvious other non-kosher firearm behavior will still get you arrested, such as threatening or menacing, reckless endangerment, reckless discharge,
possession while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, possession of a stolen or defaced firearm, etc., as such things should.
Keep in mind the officer who stops you is perfectly within his rights to ask if you're armed. However, once he does so, and finds you're armed, if he then starts to question you as to where you're going or coming from, he should give you the Miranda warning. He may take possession of the firearm during the stop, but must return it to you if you are not arrested. It may be unloaded, but not disabled.
There is no intent in any of the above to make it hard on peace officers, but only to let you know how to keep your nose clean while traveling through or into Denver. Don't toss your AR-15 on the back seat, or they'll bust you for an unconcealed, and also for a banned firearm. If you're going hunting, and are taking your long guns, and they're going to be visible while you're
traveling, be sure they're unloaded. Put them in the trunk if you can, but I know many now own SUV's with no trunk, so case 'em or cover 'em if you can, and if they can be seen, be sure they're not loaded.
Bill"
AA/labgrade
"-----Original Message-----
From: DEKE44
I'm going to include you out-of-state guys in this as well as the Colorado folk, as you may need the information if you happen to travel through Denver.
As you Colorado folk know, we got SB154 passed this year to take the heat off folks who had need to travel through Denver and avoid their confiscation ordinance. It makes having a firearm in a car "shall not be an offense" rather than the old "affirmative defense." It also defines "traveling" as being basically the crossing of jurisdictional lines. As usual, Denver tries to put its own spin on every law, and the cop shop now has new guidelines,
which are, to sum up, as follows:
Carrying a concealed weapon in Denver is legal, as long as it is carried concealed in a "private means of conveyance" (which includes cars, pickups, horses, bikes, motorcycles, e.g., but does not include cabs, buses, trains, hired limos or other public means of conveyance) and the person is
traveling into or out of Denver across a line of jurisdiction (read city limit),
regardless of how many times the person stops in either jurisdiction, and the
person is carrying for legal protection of self, property, or other persons.
The firearm may concealed anywhere in the vehicle including concealed on the person, and applies to anyone in the vehicle, driver or passenger. It may be on the seat or in the operator's lap, as long as it is shielded from view, even by a newspaper or cloth. It may also be loaded and in Condition I.
The burden of proof is now on the officer to show the person stopped was not traveling across a city border or was not carrying for lawful protection.
Seems to me this would be damned tough. The law applies if the driver began his trip outside Denver and comes into Denver, or starts his drive in Denver and goes to another town, even if he has not yet reached the Denver border.
Now comes the kicker: The City of Denver does not believe the changed law applies to UNCONCEALED GUNS! They believe this is still illegal unless the person is under direct and immediate threat of harm to himself or property and is traveling away from his home or business or, he is traveling to or from hunting, sport shooting or target shooting, purchase of the firearm, display of the gun for sale, repair of the gun or gunsmithing, and it is UNLOADED! or,
he is moving his personal property including the gun from one residence to a new one or,
he's a member of armed forces or called by law enforcement to assist in law enforcement and is carrying the firearm for duty.
Carrying firearms outside of the vehicle, concealed or unconcealed is still illegal, unless the person has a concealed-carry permit or is a peace officer. If you're carrying your firearm to your car to go target shooting, hunting, etc., it must be unloaded.
Possession of prohibited firearms under Denver's "Assault Weapon" ordinance is still illegal in Denver. So is possession of a magazine capable of holding 21 or more rounds. In other words, don't throw your 30-round M1 magazine into the car if you're going to cross Denver jurisdictional
lines.
Don't hang the old .30-30 lever-action back on the gun rack in the pickup rear window. I, of course, always used to do this just to piss 'em off. Finally had to get a behind-the-seat-back sheath for it.
The obvious other non-kosher firearm behavior will still get you arrested, such as threatening or menacing, reckless endangerment, reckless discharge,
possession while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, possession of a stolen or defaced firearm, etc., as such things should.
Keep in mind the officer who stops you is perfectly within his rights to ask if you're armed. However, once he does so, and finds you're armed, if he then starts to question you as to where you're going or coming from, he should give you the Miranda warning. He may take possession of the firearm during the stop, but must return it to you if you are not arrested. It may be unloaded, but not disabled.
There is no intent in any of the above to make it hard on peace officers, but only to let you know how to keep your nose clean while traveling through or into Denver. Don't toss your AR-15 on the back seat, or they'll bust you for an unconcealed, and also for a banned firearm. If you're going hunting, and are taking your long guns, and they're going to be visible while you're
traveling, be sure they're unloaded. Put them in the trunk if you can, but I know many now own SUV's with no trunk, so case 'em or cover 'em if you can, and if they can be seen, be sure they're not loaded.
Bill"