Weapons Charge Lawyers in Colorado Springs

Weapons charges cover a wide range of conduct, from a pistol in the wrong place to a firearm in the hands of someone the law says can’t have one. Several are felonies whether or not the weapon was ever fired or even loaded. And a felony conviction takes away the right to own a gun under federal law, whatever the felony was.

Colorado’s firearm laws changed several times between 2023 and 2025. What applies to your case depends on when and where it happened, and we check the current statute rather than relying on what used to be true.

Possession by a previous offender

Colorado’s statute makes it a class 5 felony to knowingly possess, use, or carry a firearm after a conviction for certain felonies: those that count as crimes under the state’s victims’ rights law, which covers most offenses against people, and a further list the statute names. Whether a particular prior conviction is on those lists is the first question. If the firearm was used or its use was threatened during another crime, prison is mandatory.

The key word is knowingly. Firearms are often found in a shared car or home, and the prosecution has to prove you knew the gun was there and had control of it, not just that you were nearby.

Federal law separately bars possession by anyone with a felony conviction, a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction, or a qualifying protection order, and federal prosecutors do bring those cases. See federal charges.

Concealed carry

Carrying a concealed firearm or knife without legal authority is a class 1 misdemeanor. It is not an offense to carry in your own home, business, or property, in a private vehicle for lawful protection of yourself, others, or property, or with a valid concealed carry permit. Whether one of those exceptions applies is often the whole case.

Menacing

Menacing is placing someone in fear of imminent serious bodily injury by a threat or an action. With a real or simulated firearm, knife, or bludgeon, it is a class 5 felony. No shot has to be fired and the gun doesn’t have to be loaded. These cases usually turn on what was said and done in a few seconds, and on witnesses who often disagree. See assault.

Protection orders and firearms

A protection order in a domestic violence case can require you to give up your firearms within 24 hours and not to buy or possess any while it lasts. Keeping a firearm in violation of that order is a separate problem. See domestic violence.

How the firearm was found

Many weapons cases begin with a traffic stop, a pat-down, or a search. Whether the stop and the search were lawful can decide whether the firearm is evidence at all.

How we handle weapons cases

We look first at how the weapon was found and whether the search was lawful. For possession charges, we examine who had access to the place it was found and whether the prosecution can prove knowing possession. For menacing, we go through every account of what happened. Where a conviction would cost you the right to own a firearm for work or otherwise, we factor that into every decision from the start.