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VOLUME 121 | ISSUE 1
WEEK OF JANUARY 4, 2024
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Colorado wants to hire lawyers to prosecute gun crimes in federal court, some of which are no longer illegal BY JESSE PAUL THE COLORADO SUN
Colorado’s governor and attorney general are asking the legislature for $600,000 to hire a group of attorneys who would be loaned out to the federal government to prosecute gun crimes in federal court. Proponents say the initiative would target only the most dangerous offenders. But it would also let attorneys paid for by the state pursue cases that are no longer illegal under state law. The Colorado legislature in 2021 rolled back a blanket prohibition barring people convicted of felonies from purchasing or possessing guns. Instead, only those convicted of committing the state’s most serious crimes, like murder, rape, assault, robbery, arson and child abuse, can’t have a firearm. Felony convictions for drug crimes and car theft, for instance, no longer trigger the ban. Under federal law, however, a person convicted of any felony crime is still barred from buying or possessing a firearm or ammunition and faces a 10-year prison sentence if found guilty. SEE GUNS, P23
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