Colorado Expands Red Flag ERPO Law
Colorado just expanded its red flag ERPO law, and it goes further than most people realize.
When this law first passed in 2019, only family/household members and law enforcement could file ERPO petitions. It was already controversial. It was expanded in 2023 to add in educators, physicians, and mental health professionals.
Now, with this latest expansion, it pulls in entire institutions – like schools, hospitals, and behavioral health facilities. That means your school district can now petition the courts to confiscate firearms based on a perceived concern.
This is such a worrisome overreach I don’t even know where to begin.
If there are school safety issues, that should 100% go through law enforcement.
The idea that an educational institution itself would bypass law enforcement and go directly to the court to ask for a family’s gun rights to be restricted is highly concerning.
These are serious decisions, and they should involve the people trained to handle them. That is not a school district.
As a school board member, I have also seen firsthand how fragile trust already is between families and schools. This doesn’t help. It makes it worse.
And that’s not even touching on the constitutional issues around red flag laws, of which there are many.
These institutions should be focused on helping those they serve, not being pulled into filing red flag petitions.
Issues like this are why I am running for Colorado House District 51, to make sure Loveland has a voice at the Capitol.
Sources:
https://www.coloradopolitics.com/2026/04/06/governor-signs-bill-expanding-who-can-petition-for-weapons-restrictions/
https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/SB26-004
