Colorado Gun Owners Will Likely Need a Permit to Purchase Most Semi-Autos

A controversial gun-control bill in Colorado seems more likely to pass now that lawmakers have added a permit-to-purchase amendment. Senate Bill 3 would limit the sale of semi-automatic firearms with detachable magazines. It passed the Colorado Senate in February with a 19-15 vote. Now, the bill heads to the House of Representatives, where it faces its first committee vote.

When first introduced, SB3 would have outlawed the manufacture, sale, purchase, and transfer of semi-auto rifles and shotguns with detachable magazines within Colorado. It would have placed the same prohibitions on gas-operated semi-auto handguns with detachable magazines. The bill would also prohibit the purchase and sale of certain after-market accessories, such as binary triggers, that increase a semi-auto’s rate of fire. 

The bill’s current version now requires buyers to undergo vetting by a local sheriff including criminal background checks, and obtain a firearms safety course eligibility card. Buyers would then be required to complete a hunter safety course and a new firearms safety course to be managed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Another option would be for the buyer to take an as-yet-undefined 12-hour firearms safety course. The courses must be completed within five years of purchasing the restricted firearm with either path. Individuals will be responsible for paying non-refundable fees for the firearms safety course eligibility card, sheriff’s processing fee, and fingerprint processing. 

Three Democrats (Nick Hinrichson, Tony Exum, and Mark Snyder) joined Republicans in the chamber to vote against the proposed legislation. 

State Sen. Tony Exum from El Paso County initially supported SB3. However, he removed his name as a bill sponsor due to constituent pressure and an effort to recall him.

“I couldn’t risk the fact of possibly losing my seat through a recall,” Exum told ABC Denver7. “All the gun legislation that we’ve had in the past I voted for, even with the threat of recalls, but this had a different, different energy to it.”

Another Democratic senator from El Paso County, Mark Snyder, voted against bill.

“This bill became so much more than just trying to get rid of high-capacity magazines that ultimately I could not support,” Snyder told KOAA News 5.

Despite several Democratic senators jumping ship, SB3 is expected to pass the House, where Democrats have a supermajority. Although Gov. Jared Polis expressed skepticism toward the original version of SB3, particularly regarding sweeping firearms restrictions, with the new amendments creating a pathway for Coloradans to still obtain the firearms targeted in the bill, he appears likely to sign it once it reaches his desk, according to Colorado Public Radio. Once the bill is signed into law, new restrictions will go into effect on Sept. 1, 2025. 

Sportsmen’s groups, including the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, have criticized the proposed legislation as an attack on the Second Amendment and warned that it could negatively impact future conservation funding. 

“Extremists believe banning the possession of all firearms, including our hunting semiautomatic rifles and shotguns, will reduce crime,” the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance said in a statement. “We know SB25-003 is not the answer. Criminals are the cause of the Centennial State’s firearm crime rate, not its sportsmen.”

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The Congressional Sportsmen’s Alliance also expressed concerns that the passage of SB3 would have a cooling effect on participation in hunting and shooting sports, which would in turn decrease available funds for conservation and wildlife management projects in Colorado.

“Any prohibition on the possession, transfer, and sale of some of the most commonly used firearms will depress participation in hunting and recreational shooting, and eliminate a large portion of the contributions to the Pittman-Robertson fund, together resulting in millions in lost revenue for Colorado Parks and Wildlife,” the Congressional Sportsmen’s Alliance warned.