A Nov. 19 shooting that killed five people and wounded 19 at a Colorado Springs nightclub has officials considering changes to strengthen Colorado\u2019s red flag law, particularly in self-declared \u201cSecond Amendment sanctuaries,\u201d where emergency petitions to remove a person\u2019s guns are filed less frequently and usually denied.<\/p>\n

The three-year-old state law allows law enforcement officials or family members to seek a court order to seize the guns of a person who poses a threat to themselves or others. But the Club Q shooting underscores a fundamental challenge for it and other red flag laws: Sheriffs often refuse to use the measures based on a belief that they infringe on the Second Amendment\u2019s right to bear arms.<\/p>\n

El Paso County, where the Colorado Springs shooting happened, is one such place. It has the lowest approval rate for initial court petitions filed under the law of any county in Colorado where more than three cases have been filed, according to a KHN analysis of court records. Now Colorado lawmakers, like those in other states that have experienced mass shootings in recent years, will try to turn angst over the incident into legislative action to strengthen the state\u2019s red flag law, including potentially expanding the pool of people who can petition for a protection order.<\/p>\n

Soon after the arrest of Anderson Lee Aldrich, the man accused of the Club Q shooting, reports surfaced of a previous incident<\/a> in which he surrendered to police after threatening to blow up his mother\u2019s home with a homemade bomb.<\/p>\n

According to The Associated Press<\/a>, court transcripts show that the judge who dismissed the case said in a hearing that the defendant had been stockpiling weapons and explosives, was \u201cclearly\u201d planning a shootout, and that he needed mental health treatment. Neither the family nor law enforcement sought an extreme risk protection order to ensure Aldrich didn\u2019t have access to guns, leading to questions about whether November\u2019s shooting could have been prevented if they had.<\/p>\n

Colorado\u2019s red flag law, passed in 2019, has been used more than 350 times, with initial petitions for protection orders being granted in nearly 2 in 3 cases.<\/p>\n

Judges in El Paso County approved 11 out of 53 initial petitions, just over 20%, through Nov. 22. Although El Paso County is the most populous county in Colorado, about twice as many petitions were filed in Denver County, the next largest. There, judges approved 91 of 104 initial petitions, or nearly 88%.<\/p>\n

Violence prevention advocates attributed El Paso County\u2019s low approval rate to several factors. Among them, the county declared itself<\/a> a Second Amendment sanctuary county in opposition to the red flag law, and El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder has been adamant<\/a> sheriff\u2019s officials won\u2019t seek any protection orders, \u201cunless exigent circumstances exist.\u201d<\/p>\n

So far, the only two petitions filed by law enforcement in the county were sought by the Colorado Springs Police Department.<\/p>\n

Analyses of red flag laws across the country show law enforcement officials are much more successful when they file petitions than when relatives or roommates of the person in question do.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ones that are petitioned for by law enforcement were approved more than 90% of the time, whereas the ones that are petitioned by family members, cohabitants, or parents were approved less than a third of the time,\u201d said Dr. Chris Knoepke<\/a>, a gun safety researcher with the University of Colorado\u2019s Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear why law enforcement\u2019s batting average is higher. It may be that police are more familiar with the legal requirements for processing and don\u2019t make simple mistakes that can sink a petition. Law enforcement may also have easier access to legal help in filing, and judges may consider law enforcement officials more credible than family members.<\/p>\n

Second Amendment sanctuary declarations by county governments or sheriffs can also have a chilling effect on petitions if laypeople misconstrue the largely symbolic gesture as preventing them from seeking a protection order.<\/p>\n

The El Paso County Sheriff\u2019s Office was widely criticized for not seeking a protection order after the Club Q suspect had been arrested and his guns seized in June 2021 after threatening to blow up his mother\u2019s home. The sheriff\u2019s office issued a statement<\/a> in December saying the suspect\u2019s weapons had already been seized and a mandatory protection order was in place, preventing him from buying additional firearms.<\/p>\n

However, the charges against him were dismissed in July 2022, removing the mandatory protection order. The case records were sealed, which sheriff\u2019s officials said prevented them from using that incident to pursue an extreme risk protection order. And no new evidence was available that would have allowed the sheriff to seek one, officials added.<\/p>\n