By Quentin Young | editor
One week ago, a significant new gun-purchase restriction took effect in Colorado. The law imposes new training requirements for people who want to buy many popular types of firearms, such as AR- and AK-style rifles and pistols. As Sara Wilson reported this week, the month before the new restriction took effect saw nearly three times as many firearm background checks than during the same period last year. Wilson also reported that the sheriff in Montezuma County announced he will not help implement the new law. County residents will have to travel to a sheriff’s office in a neighboring county to obtain the eligibility card that’s part of the new requirements. Below are some of our other top stories from the week.
Canvassers received petition packets as they prepared to gather signatures in support of a graduated income tax ballot measure at a Protect Colorado’s Future event in Denver on July 18, 2026. (Photo by Chase Woodruff/Colorado Newsline)
By Chase Woodruff
The supporters of a citizen initiative to put a graduated income-tax system in the Colorado constitution said Monday that they had submitted more than 157,000 signatures — more than the required 124,238 — to the Colorado secretary of state’s office as they seek to qualify for the November ballot. The secretary of state’s office must verify the signatures before the measure qualifies for the ballot. Initiative 195 would hike the tax rate to 7.4% for income above $500,000 and gradually increase the rate to 8.4% for income above $1 million. Those higher rates would apply to the top 3% of earners, while the 97% of Coloradans who earn less than $500,000 per year would see a slight income tax reduction.
A ballot drop box is seen at Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library on Welton Street in Denver, Nov. 4, 2025. (Photo by Quentin Young/Colorado Newsline)
By Sara Wilson
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit from the Trump administration on Monday that sought to compel Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold to hand over sensitive voter information to the federal government. Colorado was one of 30 states the administration sued for a refusal to supply unredacted voter information. So far, the U.S. Department of Justice has lost 20 of those cases.
Victor Marx, then a Republican candidate for governor, participates in a forum hosted by Colorado business groups in Glendale on May 28, 2026. (Photo by Chase Woodruff/Colorado Newsline)
By Chase Woodruff
Victor Marx, the Colorado Republican Party’s nominee for governor, is “committing blatant criminal (acts)” by accepting unlimited campaign contributions through his online merchandise store, a GOP operative wrote in a campaign finance complaint filed Monday. The complaint, filed with the Colorado secretary of state’s office by Darcy Schoening, a former state party official, follows Marx’s solicitation, first reported by 9News last week, of unlimited donations through his website, a scheme that one campaign finance attorney described as “patently illegal.”
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Ban stock trading, Colorado Democrats urge U.S. House speaker | By Lindsey Toomer
House Democrats want to win every Colorado congressional seat this year | By Lindsey Toomer
As federal protections fade, disabled Americans fear a return to institutions | By Anna Claire Vollers
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