Home » CO Ceasefire News: Denver Gun Violence Down; Fewer ERPOs filed in 2A ‘Sanctuaries’

CO Ceasefire News: Denver Gun Violence Down; Fewer ERPOs filed in 2A ‘Sanctuaries’

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2024 Sees Big Drop in Denver Gun Violence, Police Say

Denver has seen a 12% decrease in overall gun violence versus 2023, including a 30% drop in the number of fatal shootings and a 28% drop in non-fatal shootings, Denver Police told the Denver City Council last month.

The big decline in shootings was offset by an increase in other gun violence, including robberies in which a suspect brandished a gun or incidents in which a suspect fired a gun but no one was hurt, Denver Police Cmdr. Jake Herrera told Council members. The city continues to fall short of Mayor Mike Johnston’s goal to reduce gun violence by 20% in 2024.

According to the The Denver Post, the decline in overall gun violence continues a trend seen both in Denver and nationwide in which violent crime has steadily dropped since reaching historic highs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ninety-five people were killed in Denver in 2020, 96 in 2021, 88 in 2022, and 85 in 2023. At this point last year, 77 people had been killed, compared to 66 people so far this year, according to Denver Police. This year’s homicide count has already topped 2019’s year-end total of 63.

ERPOs Filed in Colorado 2A ‘Sanctuaries,’ but Less Often

Thirty-seven percent of all Extreme Risk Protection Order petitions in Colorado between 2020 and 2022 were filed in counties that made proclamations against red flag laws, calling themselves “Second Amendment sanctuaries,” according to research by the University of Colorado School of Medicine’s Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative.

The research answers a question of whether people in such locales are less likely to seek the orders, which aim to take guns out of the hands of people who may be dangerous to themselves or others.

Over a three-year period beginning in 2021, 353 petitions were filed under Colorado’s red flag law, and 39% of those petitions led to firearms being relinquished, according to research the group published in Preventive Medicine Reports.

Chillingly, the group also found that petitions filed and granted in sanctuary jurisdictions are more serious than those filed in non-sanctuaries: Nearly one in five involved a shooter threatening to kill at least three other people in addition to themselves. More than 90% included threats to shoot specific people such as family members, partners, or law enforcement officers.

Guns a Major Reason U.S. Life Expectancy Lags Others’, Experts Say

Gun violence is a big reason the U.S. is falling short in health and well-being outcomes compared to other high-income countries, according to a report from the Bloomberg American Health Initiative (BAHI) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

On average, life expectancy is 78.6 years in the U.S. compared to 81.3 years in England and Wales. Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, director of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative and vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told Fortune magazine that what alarms him most is how “firearm-related homicide and suicide rates are 485.9 times higher for people under age 25 in the U.S. compared to the United Kingdom (U.K.).”

Study: US Weapons Fuel Latin American Violence, Migration

Many undocumented immigrants who appear at the southern border may be fleeing gun violence perpetrated with weapons that originally came from the U.S., says a new report from the National Criminal Justice Association.

A report by researchers at the University of Michigan and the University of Colorado published in the journal Injury Prevention found that nearly half of migrants coming across the border had previously been threatened by guns—the vast majority of which, in some of those countries, originated in the U.S. The researchers recommended that immigration officials consider the circumstances of immigrants’ gun threats and their effects as they make policy.

Please Remember Ceasefire on Colorado Gives Day, Dec. 10!

As you saw in our lead story, gun violence is on the decline in Denver. But the city, and the rest of Colorado, still need to do better. We aren’t about to give up, and we know you won’t, either.

Dec. 10th is Colorado Gives Day, traditionally the biggest funding day of Ceasefire’s year. We hope you’ll consider standing with us as we keep fighting the gun lobby, working for common-sense gun-law reforms, and educating the public about how they can keep their families and communities safe from gun violence.

Through December 10, every donation you make will be boosted with a $1M+ Incentive Fund, made possible by Colorado Gives Foundation and FirstBank. Each nonprofit will receive a share of the fund based on their percentage of the total raised. Plus, if you set up a new monthly donation, Colorado Gives Foundation will match your first monthly donation up to $100 and up to $250,000 in total across all organizations! This is a fantastic opportunity to double your impact.

Please help us keep up the fight today!