On July 1, several state laws passed in the 2024 and 2025 sessions of the Colorado legislature went into effect. Of those passed and now operative, gun regulations are probably of more immediate interest to Valley residents than are some of the others. The new gun laws apply tighter regulations to aspects of selling and carrying firearms. House Bill 24-1353 requires gun shops to have a state license in addition to a federal permit in order to sell firearms, to conduct fingerprint background checks on their employees every three years, and to train staff on preventing self-harm and detecting straw purchases (one person buying a weapon for another person). Rather than relying on federal oversight, stores are also now subject to random inspections, giving local…