BOULDER — Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett hopes to cut down on gun violence by putting more emphasis on enforcing laws that prohibit people from applying for guns when they know they aren’t supposed to have them.
The Colorado legislature passed a series of gun laws in 2013, including one that now requires universal background checks for potential gun buyers. But another part of that law makes it a crime to even apply for a background check if people know they are not qualified to own a gun.
“Background checks are not being enforced as carefully in Boulder County as it should be,” Garnett said. “If somebody knowingly applies for a gun but knows they don’t qualify, that’s a misdemeanor, and I want to make sure we prosecute those cases. People who repeatedly apply for guns even though they aren’t qualified may be particularly dangerous people and just the kind of people we don’t want to get access to firearms.”
Violating that statute is a Class 1 misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine.
Garnett said he has already about six cases of people unlawfully trying to buy firearms in Boulder County.
