Colorado judge denies request to take man’s guns under new ‘red flag’ law

In a first, a judge declined a motion to confiscate a man’s guns under Colorado’s “red flag” law, according to CBS4.

The unnamed woman who filed the request, who lives in the town of Limon, is one of four known people who have made filings to confiscate guns under the law, with others filing in Denver and Larimer County.

The filing claims the man in question has a drinking problem and has verbally and physically threatened the person making the request with a handgun, according to CBS4.

Lincoln County, where Limon is located, has indicated it will not honor the Colorado law, but state Rep. Alec Garnett (D) said the law allows for requests to be turned down.

He told CBS4 that in this case, the mechanism for denying a request worked as intended. The reasoning behind the judge’s denial was not immediately made public.

The details of red flag laws vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but Colorado’s allows law enforcement to seek temporary protection orders or confiscation orders from a judge for a person deemed a danger to themselves or others, with a court hearing required within 14 days of an order being granted to determine whether to extend the confiscation, with a cap of 364 days.