Face The State Staff Report
For the third year in a row, Sen. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, and Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, are sponsoring a bill that would give employees and business owners the right to defend themselves, their property, and their fellow employees from intruders without fear of prosecution.
Homeowners across the state already enjoy such protection as part of the Colorado's “Make My Day” law, which guarantees the right to self-defense in their own homes. According to Harvey, the bill has been killed in the past because it expanded the protection to any individual inside a business. In response to criticism that the language was too expansive, it has been narrowed to include just employees and business owners. Harvey hopes the tweaked language will help boost his bill out of committee.
The bill has been assigned to the Senate State Affairs Committee and is expected to be heard today, but the prospects are less than promising. On Monday, the State Affairs committee killed a bill sponsored by Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, that would have prohibited local governments from passing any law or regulation requiring a person to store their lawfully owned firearms in a way that renders them inoperable.
Dudley Brown, executive director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, said the three Democrats that control the State Affairs committee are terrible on Second Amendment issues. “I don’t remember any of those three voting even marginally pro-gun,” he said, referring to Sen. Suzanne Williams, of Aurora, Sen. Bob Bacon, of Fort Collins, and Sen. Betty Boyd, of Lakewood.
Williams, who chairs the committee, and Bacon, who is the vice-chair, did not return Face The State's request for comment.