(1) (a) (I) A person who owns a firearm and who has reasonable cause to believe that the firearm has been lost or stolen shall report such fact to a law enforcement agency not more than five days after discovering that the firearm has been lost or stolen. A report of a lost or stolen firearm must include, and the law enforcement agency receiving the report shall request, an accurate and detailed description of the firearm, including, to the extent known, the manufacturer, model, serial number, caliber, and any other identification number or distinguishing mark of the firearm being reported.
(II) A person other than the owner of a lost or stolen firearm who is a member
of the owner’s family or who resides with the owner may report the loss or theft to a
law enforcement agency. If a person who is not the owner of a lost or stolen firearm
makes the report, the owner is not required to report pursuant to subsection (1)(a)(I)
of this section. Making a report pursuant to this subsection (1)(a)(II) does not
constitute acknowledgment of ownership of the firearm for the purposes of any
other provision of law.
(b) A person who previously reported a lost or stolen firearm pursuant to this
section who has found or otherwise recovered the firearm, or any other person who
has found or recovered the firearm, shall report to the law enforcement agency that
received the report that the firearm has been recovered.
(c) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, a person who
knowingly violates subsection (1)(a)(I) of this section commits failure to report a lost
or stolen firearm.
(2) Failure to report a lost or stolen firearm is a civil infraction, punishable by
a twenty-five dollar fine; except that a second or subsequent offense is an
unclassified misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine
of not more than five hundred dollars.
(3) This section does not apply to a licensed gun dealer, as defined in section
18-12-506.
(4) Within five days after receiving a report of a lost or stolen firearm
pursuant to this section, the law enforcement agency that receives the report shall
enter any available descriptive information related to the lost or stolen firearm into
the Colorado bureau of investigation crime information center database.
(5) [ Editor’s note: This version of subsection (5) is effective until January 1,
2025. ] A person who reports a lost or stolen firearm pursuant to subsection (1) of
this section is immune from criminal prosecution for an offense in this part 1 related
to the storage of firearms.
(5) [ Editor’s note: This version of subsection (5) is effective January 1, 2025. ] A person who reports a lost or stolen firearm pursuant to subsection (1) of this
section is immune from criminal prosecution for an offense in this part 1 related to
the storage of firearms and from prosecution for the civil infraction of unlawful
storage of a firearm in a vehicle as described in section 18-12-114.5.
(6) This section is known and may be cited as the Isabella Joy Thallas Act.
L. 2021: Entire section added, (SB 21-078), ch. 38, p. 144, § 1, effective September 7. L. 2024: (5) amended, (HB 24-1348), ch. 178, p. 970, § 2, effective January 1, 2025.
Section 7 of chapter 178 (HB 24-1348), Session Laws of Colorado 2024, provides that the act changing this section applies to offenses committed on or after January 1, 2025.
