Colorado Semi-Auto Ban Back on Senate Schedule

Colorado’s Senate was set to debate and hold a first vote on a sweeping bill banning the sale and manufacture of all gas-operated semi-automatic firearms capable of accepting a detachable magazine last Friday, but sponsors of the legislation pulled the measure from consideration at the last minute so they could talk things over with Gov. Jared Polis’ office. 

Polis has been noncommittal about signing the bill if it gets to his desk, and while that hasn’t changed publicly, there may be more going on behind the scenes, because SB 3 is now slated for debate later this week.

The first full vote on Senate Bill 3 was delayed last week, but it’s now scheduled for Thursday. That bill, which would institute a sweeping ban on the purchase or transfer of certain semiautomatic firearms if they accept detachable magazines, was paused because its sponsors are in negotiations with Gov. Jared Polis, who has not embraced the proposal. 

It’s unclear if those negotiations will bear any fruit — or what exactly that fruit might look like — but the bill is set for the Senate floor on Thursday.

That’ll be a jam-packed day in the Senate: Senate Bill 5 — a contentious measure that would change a key union-organizing provision in Colorado’s labor law — is also up for its first vote in the chamber Thursday. That bill has drawn even starker opposition from Polis, as well as objections from the business community.

Republicans are expected to oppose both measures and likely stretch debate over hours — particularly on the gun bill. Still, the bills each appear to have sufficient Democratic support to pass the Senate and move to the House.

Polis has said that he’s not a fan of hardware bans like SB 3, but he’s also declared he’s not “fundamentally opposed” to the legislation, which, if enacted, would be the most comprehensive gun ban anywhere in the U.S., at least for now. New Mexico Democrats are also pushing a similar ban in Santa Fe, with both bills modeled after the federal GOSAFE Act introduced last year by New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich and Sen. Angus King of Maine. 

SB 3, as currently written, would make it a class 2 misdemeanor to manufacture, distribute, transfer, sell, or purchase any of the rifles, shotguns, and pistols prohibited by the legislation, with a subsequent offense rising to a class 6 felony. Current gun owners would be grandfathered in, at least for now, but there’s nothing stopping lawmakers from going back and revising the gun ban after it’s enshrined into law. We’ve seen anti-gunners in California play that game when it comes to “large capacity” magazines; though the state’s mag ban grandfathered in existing owners for several decades, the Democrat-dominated legislature repealed that provision a few years ago. As of right now the grandfather provision is in effect thanks to a court order, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals could overturn (or uphold) that decision at any time. 

There’s simply no reason to trust any politician who says gun owners will still be “allowed” to maintain possession of the guns they lawfully purchased when those same officials proclaim that semi-automatic firearms are “weapons of war” that must be removed from society. SB 3 is a constitutional abomination as is, but if it’s enacted it will likely become even worse in the years ahead. 

Colorado gun owners have done a great job of putting pressure on Polis and rural Democrats, and expect those grassroots lobbying efforts to ramp up ahead of Thursday’s anticipated debate. SB 3 may have the votes to get to the governor, but 2A advocates will be putting up a fight every step of the way.