Colorado legal term
Firearm in Colorado Criminal Law
Current through 2026 Colorado legislative session
In Colorado criminal law, “Firearm” is a term defined by statute rather than by its everyday meaning. Its statutory definition — quoted verbatim below — controls how the term is applied throughout the Colorado criminal code.
What does “Firearm” mean in Colorado criminal law?
"Firearm" means any handgun, automatic, revolver, pistol, rifle, shotgun, or other instrument or device capable or intended to be capable of discharging bullets, cartridges, or other explosive charges. (C.R.S. § 18-1-901)
Statutes defining or using this term
Charges using this term
- Theft
- Disorderly conduct
- Enforcement of large-capacity magazine ban by regulating the manufacture, distribution, transfer, sale, and purchase of specified semiautomatic firearms
- Large-capacity magazines prohibited
- Possession of handguns by juveniles
- Unlawfully carrying a weapon
- Background checks at gun shows
- Crime of violation of a protection order
- Defacing a firearm
- Disarming a peace officer
- Failure to report a lost or stolen firearm
- Firearms, explosives, or incendiary devices in facilities of public transportation
Related terms in the same statutes
This reference is informational and is not legal advice.