The Gun Laws of Aurora, Colorado: the dirty secret they don't want you to know

[Riot]

Note: this thread is not meant to insult the families of the victims or to downplay the Aurora shooting in any way. However, there is a lot of political backlash about our Country's current firearm laws and how more laws and regulations would have prevented the tragedy. Having said that, I thought it would be appropriate to at least cover some of the firearm laws in Aurora.

Sec. 94-154. - Firearms prohibited in or upon public facilities.

(a)The carrying of firearms in or upon public facilities is unlawful when said facilities are posted with notification that the carrying of firearms is prohibited.

Sec. 94-152. - Firearms on private property.

(a)It shall be unlawful for any person, carrying a firearm, to enter or remain upon any private property of another or any building or property of a commercial establishment when such property, building, or establishment is posted with notification that the carrying of firearms is prohibited.

Sec. 94-146. - Discharge within city prohibited; exceptions; range rules.

(a)It shall be unlawful for any person to fire, shoot, or discharge any firearm; crossbow; bow and arrow; slingshot; blowgun; BB gun or pellet gun, whether powered with gunpowder, compressed air, or gas cartridges; gas gun; or any weapon whatsoever within the city limits. However, such discharge, firing, or shooting by any law enforcement officer, federal, state, county, or city, in the course of his or her official duty shall not be deemed a violation of this subsection, and such discharge, firing, or shooting at commercial, private, or public shooting ranges or by authorized classes of schools or universities at all times under proper instruction and supervision as may be authorized or permitted by law shall not be deemed a violation of this subsection.

Municode

These are the ordinance codes for Aurora, Colorado. In a nutshell, it says that it is a misdermeanor to discharge a firearm anywhere except on a range (LEO excluded). It also says it is a crime to carry a firearm where that establishment has a posted sign that firearms are prohibitted from carry (although it has no provisions as to where the sign must be posted, how big the sign must be or even if it needs to be in ENGLISH). You can be charged with a misdermeanor and have your permit taken away from you by simply walking into an area that doesn't allow firearms; but you just didn't notice the posting. Basically it is designed to discourage anyone with a Colorado permit from ever carrying a firearm since you can't even shoot a firearm within the city limits of Aurora.

Discuss...

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[SonicBlue03]

I'm glad they can charge Holmes with an additional set of misdemeanors. I'm sure his twelve fatalities and fifty-nine wounded victims will applaud that.

 

[Riot]

I'm glad they can charge Holmes with an additional set of misdemeanors. I'm sure his twelve fatalities and fifty-nine wounded victims will applaud that.

Exactly. After Columbine, cities wrapped themselves in these ordinances and started making "Gun Free Zones". All these did were create safe havens for criminals and create an invisible "security blanket" for the sheeple. Unless you post armed security/LEO, there is no obstacle against a determined criminal.

 

[SonicBlue03]

Its similar to the whole, "if you're wearing body armor when committing a felony, you get an ADDITIONAL felony or extra years on your sentence."

Something tells me that people committing a crime with armor on aren't really thinking about/concerned for the sentence they might receive if taken alive....

 

[Chee-to]

Municode

These are the ordinance codes for Aurora, Colorado. In a nutshell, it says that it is a misdermeanor to discharge a firearm anywhere except on a range (LEO excluded). It also says it is a crime to carry a firearm where that establishment has a posted sign that firearms are prohibitted from carry (although it has no provisions as to where the sign must be posted, how big the sign must be or even if it needs to be in ENGLISH). You can be charged with a misdermeanor and have your permit taken away from you by simply walking into an area that doesn't allow firearms; but you just didn't notice the posting. Basically it is designed to discourage anyone with a Colorado permit from ever carrying a firearm since you can't even shoot a firearm within the city limits of Aurora.

Discuss...

These laws worked perfectly............................for the killer !!

 

[Riot]

These laws worked perfectly............................for the killer !!

Exactly...a "perfect storm" if you will.

Now all we need are more gun laws and this will NEVER happen again!

[/sarcasm]

 

[netcarrier]

Hi All,
This is what I think about the whole thing. I would like to see that the law is so that all persons in the USA be trained on the safety and use of firearms. That the Law would be all persons have to have, on there person a weapon, Be it a handgun, long rifle, or shotgun. All persons would carry. This way if someone came into a place to rob all would have a gun. I bet there would not be many shooting or robbery. My two cents.
Tony Portland, Oregon Area

 

[civilian75]

I guess Holmes is proof these ordinances did not work. But I doubt that's what politicians will deduct.

 

[lamrith]

So how does the 2003/2004 CO enactment of Preemption change things with regard to Auora's codes?

 

[Riot]

So how does the 2003/2004 CO enactment of Preemption change things with regard to Auora's codes?

Honestly, I did not know anything of Colorado's preemtions...after digging a bit, this is what I've found:

Where can I NOT carry with a valid Colorado concealed carry permit?

18-12-214. Authority granted by permit - carrying restrictions.

(1) (a) A permit to carry a concealed handgun authorizes the permittee to carry a concealed handgun in all areas of the state, except

(2) A permit issued does not authorize a person to carry a concealed handgun into a place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law.

<broken link removed>
<broken link removed>

The other exceptions are schools and areas where security screening for firearms is specifically present. Any signs of firearms only pretains to OPEN CARRY due to SB24 and SB25.



My understanding is that most Colorado police agree that these codes are essentially "unenforceable" due to the preemption. However, the fact remains that they are still on the books as municipal codes meant to discourage someone from carrying a firearm for self-defense.

 

[lamrith]

My understanding is that most Colorado police agree that these codes are essentially "unenforceable" due to the preemption. However, the fact remains that they are still on the books as municipal codes meant to discourage someone from carrying a firearm for self-defense.

That is exactly what I was thinking. It would be interesting to hear/find out if any of the patrons in the theater had Concealed permit, but because of how confusing the laws are they elected not to carry. The laws get complex to the point you never know if you are legal or not and people will tend to carry less for fear of losing their right to carry entirely thru an oversite of the fine print.

 

[Jacurso]

Well Riot.......Playing the devil's advocate for a minute...........

If I were a determined criminal.....the first person that I would take out would be the security/LEO. Same as in a bank.

 

[Riot]

Well Riot.......Playing the devil's advocate for a minute...........

If I were a determined criminal.....the first person that I would take out would be the security/LEO. Same as in a bank.

Playing re-Devil's Advocate you need to realize that criminals are opportunists. All we can ever do to deter crime is to become "hard targets" and present a small window of opportunity (i.e. lock your car, park in a well lit area, be aware of your surrounds, etc.). Having a uniformed presence is a blessing and a curse...it deters crime but creates a target on the uniformed person. Non-uniformed security/LEO presence maintains the element of surprise but has no visible deterant (hence the argument against open carry versus concealed).