DENVER— The House State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee passed a bill that elevates the penalty for burglary of a firearm in Colorado. House Bill 18-1077, sponsored by Representative Larry Liston (R-Colorado Springs), increases the penalty for a second degree burglary from a class 4 to a class 3 felony when the intent is steal firearms, firearm accessories or ammunition. The crime of burglary is defined as entering into a building illegally with intent to commit a crime; often to commit theft.

Elevating the criminal sentence range to a class 3 felony would carry a presumptive range of 4-12 years of prison, doubling the range from a class 4.

This is good public policy that will make the crime of burglarizing a gun store more than just a slap on the wrist. For the safety of our men and women in blue and for our communities, we need to make smash and grab burglaries of gun stores a serious crime, and the passage of this bill sends that message. —  Liston

House Bill 18-1077 passed by a vote of 7-2, and now heads to the House Appropriations Committee.

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