Gun Protection Orders Requested in Most Colorado Counties That Rejected Them

This is the first in a series about extreme risk protection orders two years after they were legalized in Colorado.

On January 1, 2020, Colorado legalized extreme risk protection orders, which create a mechanism to restrict access to firearms for individuals deemed a danger to themselves or others. The measure, sometimes shorthanded as the "Red Flag Law," was controversial, with 38 of Colorado's 64 counties eventually declaring themselves ERPO sanctuary counties after sheriffs or other local law enforcement agencies pledged that they wouldn't enforce the law. But ERPOs have been filed in more than half of those counties in the program's first two years, with the total number of requests rising from year to year.

The statistics from the Colorado Judicial Branch are touted by Eileen McCarron, who serves as president of the legislative action arm of the advocacy organization Colorado Ceasefire, and Lisa Geller, state affairs manager for the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence, based in Washington, D.C. They see the numbers as offering evidence that ERPOs are working as intended in Colorado — and they suggest that some of those most opposed to the measure in the beginning may be starting to come around.

As evidence, Geller cites 2020 data on Colorado ERPOs in "Colorado's First Year of Extreme Risk Protection Orders," a study conducted by the Colorado School of Public Health and the University of Colorado School of Medicine. "Most of the ERPOs were filed by law enforcement officers, followed by family members," she points out.

McCarron adds that "the majority of petitions in Colorado were filed for risk of harm against others, even though it's an incredible suicide prevention tool." That's particularly important in Colorado, she notes, since most of the approximately 850 gun-violence deaths in Colorado that have been registered annually in recent years involve individuals who've taken their own life.

During the initial twelve-month period after ERPOs became legal, 109 petitions were filed. At the end of the second year, the total hit 255, which Geller and McCarron see as an indication that more people are learning about the law.

That's happening even in places where opposition to ERPOs was high. "Of the 38 counties who had adopted resolutions declaring themselves sanctuary counties, twenty of them have had ERPOs filed in the last two years," McCarron points out. "That's 53 percent of the counties that said they weren't going to do it."

A few of those sanctuary counties have large populations, including El Paso County, which registered the second-most ERPO petitions overall: 25 for temporary orders that last two weeks, and fourteen for orders that extend to a year. But McCarron also notes that "most of them are small-population counties that have some of the highest suicide rates in the state. That's frustrating to see, since officials were, in essence, turning their back on trying to save their own residents' lives."

"The Color of Risk Protection Orders: Gun Violence, Gun Laws, and Racial Justice," a national ERPO study issued by Duke University, puts this last comment in context. "They found that for every ten to twenty orders issued, one suicide is prevented," Geller says.

Denver has seen the most ERPO petitions filed, with several other metro-area counties near the top of the roster — including Douglas County, which, like El Paso County, had declared that it would not be enforcing the law.

Here are the Colorado counties where at least one extreme risk protection order petition was filed in either 2020 or 2021. They're ranked from the fewest to the most temporary ERPOs requested, and sanctuary counties are designated by an asterisk.

Dolores County
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 1

Lake County
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 1

Las Animas County*
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 1

Pitkin County
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 1

Eagle County
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 1
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0

Broomfield County
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 1
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0

Clear Creek County
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 1
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0

Delta County*
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 1
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0

Jackson County*
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 1
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0

Lincoln County*
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 1
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0

Montezuma County*
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 1
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0

Phillips County*
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 1
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0

Saguache County
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 1
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0

San Juan County
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 1
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0

Summit County
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 1
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0

Rio Grande County*
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 1
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 1

Gunnison County
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 1
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 3

Adams County
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 2
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0

Alamosa County*
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 2
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0

Grand County
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 2
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0

Mesa County*
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 2
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0

Morgan County*
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 2
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0

Teller County*
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 2
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0

Archuleta County*
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 2
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 1

Boulder County — Longmont
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 2
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 1

Routt County
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 2
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 1

Elbert County*
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 3
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0

Fremont County*
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 3
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0

Montrose County*
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 3
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0

Larimer County
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 3
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 2

La Plata County
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 4
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0

Garfield County*
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 5
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0

Arapahoe County
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 6
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 5

Pueblo County
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 7
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 2

Boulder County
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 7
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 5

Weld County*
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 8
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 2

Douglas County*
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 12
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 5

Jefferson County
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 24
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 0

El Paso County*
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 25
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 14

Denver County — Probate
Petition(s) for Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order: 57
Petition(s) for Extreme Risk Protection Order: 10

Click to read studies "The Color of Risk Protection Orders: Gun Violence, Gun Laws, and Racial Justice" and "Colorado's First Year of Extreme Risk Protection Orders."