Colorado legislators have the need and to approve Senate Bill 4, and the evidence to show that it can save lives.
The bill is a measured expansion of Colorado’s so-called red flag law that would expand the measure’s ability to save lives by keeping guns out of the hands of people in crisis.
This bill is not radical nor reckless. It is a practical response to a reality Aurora and all of Colorado know too well. There are too many gun deaths stem from suicide, domestic violence and mental health crises that spiral into tragedy when firearms are close at hand.
The measure would strengthen the state’s Extreme Risk Protection Order law by allowing those closest to a crisis, and trained to recognize danger, to act sooner.
It would let behavioral health co-responders petition a judge directly for a temporary firearm removal. It would allow action when a child is at risk of harming themselves or others. It would permit schools, hospitals and treatment facilities to file petitions, instead of forcing individual doctors, nurses or teachers to slog through the bureaucracy.
The logic is plain. The people most likely to spot warning signs are often not police officers or immediate family members. They are therapists responding to urgent calls, school officials watching a student unravel, or medical professionals treating someone deep in addiction, anxiety or depression.
Senate Bill 4 gives those professionals a direct, lawful path to intervene before a crisis becomes irreversible.
Centennial Democratic Sen. Tom Sullivan, the bill’s lead sponsor, has been clear and consistent about the goal. Extreme risk protection orders are about prevention, not punishment. They are temporary, judicially reviewed measures designed to remove firearms when someone poses a danger to themselves or others — particularly in cases involving suicide and domestic violence. Sullivan has spent years pushing Colorado to confront gun violence with policies grounded in lived experience and evidence, and this bill follows that same approach.
The numbers underscore the need. Between 2020 and 2024, nearly 700 ERPO petitions were filed in Colorado. Judges granted the majority of them.
These are not frivolous filings rubber-stamped by the courts. They are deliberate, evidence-based decisions made by judges who weigh risk, due process and public safety.
The law has also survived multiple court challenges since its passage in 2019, further confirming its constitutional foundation.
Opponents argue that expanding the list of who can petition infringes on Second Amendment rights. That claim ignores what the law actually does. An ERPO does not permanently confiscate guns. It does not brand anyone a criminal. It temporarily separates a person who is provably in crisis from lethal weapons, with due process, court oversight and clear standards.
Gun rights are not destroyed. Instead, they are balanced against the immediate risk of death.
We already accept this balance in countless other areas of public life. When someone is too drunk or impaired to drive, society has the sense to take away the car keys. We do it not to punish, but to prevent them from killing themselves or someone else.
Guns are uniquely lethal. In moments of instability, fueled by mental illness, substance abuse or emotional crisis, they turn impulsive acts into permanent outcomes.
Sullivan has repeatedly pointed out that suicide and domestic violence are precisely where ERPOs make the greatest difference. Removing access to a gun during a crisis can mean the difference between a bad night and a catastrophic one.
Debate has made a strong case for asking that professionals be added to the law so that their institutions can be involved. Filing an ERPO should not expose an individual therapist or teacher to retaliation or administrative hurdles. Letting institutions petition adds a layer of protection, accountability and efficiency, while encouraging front-line professionals to speak up when they see danger.
Critics warn of costs and inconvenience to gun owners. Those concerns pale next to the cost of funerals, emergency room visits and shattered families. The burden imposed by a temporary firearm removal is minor compared with the irreversible harm Senate Bill 4 is designed to prevent.
Colorado cannot claim ignorance. From Aurora to Evergreen High School, the warning signs of crisis and access to guns have too often converged with deadly results. Senate Bill 4 is a chance to intervene earlier, smarter and more humanely.
