Gun Rights and Domestic Violence

If you are charged with a crime that involves domestic violence, the court will issue a protection order that also precludes you from possessing a firearm during the case. See C.R.S. § 18-1-1001. Additionally, if you plead or are found guilty of a crime involving domestic violence, you may not be able to possess, own, or purchase a firearm ever again. See 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9). What about the Second Amendment right to bear arms? Unfortunately, numerous courts have held it is constitutional to take guns away from individuals convicted of a crime of domestic violence. See Stimmel v. Sessions, 879 F.3d 198, 212 (6th Cir. 2018); Fisher v. Kealoha, 855 F.3d 1067, 1070-71 (9th Cir. 2017).

The problem with Colorado’s domestic violence laws is the broad definition Colorado uses for domestic violence. In Colorado, domestic violence “means an act or threatened act of violence upon a person with whom the actor is or has been involved in an intimate relationship. Domestic violence also includes any other crime against a person, or against property, including an animal, or any municipal ordinance violation against a person, or against property, including an animal, when used as a method of coercion, control, punishment, intimidation, or revenge directed against a person with whom the actor is or has been involved in an intimate relationship.” See C.R.S. § 18-6-800.3(1). Additionally, intimate relationship “means a relationship between spouses, former spouses, past or present unmarried couples, or persons who are both the parents of the same child regardless of whether the persons have been married or have lived together at any time.” § 18-6-800.3(2).

Federal law, on the other hand, defines a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, that is necessary to trigger the federal gun ban, as “a misdemeanor under Federal, State, or Tribal law; and [] has, as an element, the use or attempted use of physical force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon, committed by a current or former spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim, by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common, by a person who is cohabiting with or has cohabited with the victim as a spouse, parent, or guardian, or by a person similarly situated to a spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim.” 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(33)(A). Under this definition, crimes that are considered domestic violence in Colorado would not qualify as domestic violence under federal law. For example, if you were convicted of telephone harassment under C.R.S. §18-9-111(1)(f) against a former girlfriend, you may still be allowed to possess a gun because the crime does not have use or attempted use of physical force as an element.

Additionally, if you were convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence against a past girlfriend that you never lived with and have no children with, you may still be able to possess a gun. While Colorado defines domestic violence as a crime against a former intimate partner, including past unmarried couples, federal law defines domestic violence as between current or former spouses, persons who share a child, persons who cohabitate or have cohabitated in the past, or persons similarly situated to a spouse. This definition does not include a provision for past unmarried couples that never lived together and have no children together.

If you have been denied a firearm based on a domestic violence and you fit into one of the categories mentioned above, you may be able to petition a federal court for a declaration that the federal law banning firearms to those convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence does not apply to you.