State Gun Laws

If the abuser is in the courtroom when a judge orders the abuser to give up his/her guns and ammunition, s/he will have 24 hours to give up the guns and ammunition. If the abuser is not in the courtroom when the order is issued, s/he will have 48 hours to give them up. Both time frames do not count legal holidays and weekends.¹

After the judge orders the abuser to give up his/her guns and ammunition, the abuser may do so by:

• selling or transferring the firearms to a federally-licensed firearms dealer;
• storing them with a law enforcement agency; or
• selling or transferring them to a person who can legally possess firearms or ammunition.²

The judge must also schedule a compliance hearing within eight to twelve business days to make sure that the abuser did, in fact, give up the firearms. The respondent will be notified of the hearing date and s/he is supposed to appear at the hearing in person. If the judge determines that there is “probable cause” to believe the respondent has failed to give up his/her firearms, the judge will issue a search warrant so that law enforcement can search the respondent’s home for the firearms and take them.³

You can read more about keeping an abuser from accessing guns on the National Domestic Violence and Firearms Resource Center’s website.

¹ Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-14-105.5(2)(a)
² Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-14-105.5(2)(a)(II)(c)
³ Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-14-105.5(1)(c), (5)(a), (5)(e)