A new Colorado law goes into effect on August 1, and gun owners in blue or purple states should be ready for similar legislation to spread — especially if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the incorrectly named “assault weapons” bans.
Colorado’s SB 25‑003 creates a new set of requirements for anyone who wants to purchase a firearm covered under the bill. Here’s what gun owners will have to do:
- Be at least 21 years old. Anyone 18 to 20 is banned from purchasing these firearms.
- Obtain a Firearms Safety Course Eligibility Card from their local sheriff. This requires a state application, a non‑refundable fee, and two sets of fingerprints for a background check.
- Complete an in‑person safety course. If you’ve already completed hunter’s education, you can take a four‑hour course. If not, you must take a 12‑hour course.
- Pass the training exam with a score of 90% or higher.
Once all documentation is complete, it must be taken to the dealer, where the NICS check will be performed and the state’s three‑day waiting period applies.
And this is the goal of the gun‑control crowd. Sure, you can technically own “assault weapons,” but they intend to make the process so onerous that most people won’t bother. This is exactly the kind of law states like California or New York will replicate if the Supreme Court strikes down outright bans.
What firearms are covered?
Here’s part of the legislative summary:
The act defines a ‘specified semiautomatic firearm’ as a semiautomatic rifle or semiautomatic shotgun with a detachable magazine, or a gas‑operated semiautomatic handgun with a detachable magazine. The act excludes certain types of firearms and specified models of firearms from the definition.”
The list of included and excluded firearms is over 150 pages long. You have to see it to believe it. The list is maintained by the Department of Revenue and local sheriff’s offices, both of which will no doubt appreciate the fees generated by this process.
Make no mistake: this law is unconstitutional. But given how long it took for assault‑weapon bans to reach SCOTUS, you can expect these types of laws to take years to get there, if they ever do.
Is this worse than a ban? No. But it’s the beginning of a regulatory regime designed to become so burdensome that it functions as a de facto ban.
The Mountain States Legal Foundation, the Colorado Shooting Sports Association (the NRA affiliate), and a number of citizens have already filed a lawsuit challenging the legislation.
