Colorado Semi-Auto Ban Stalls in Legislature

Colorado lawmakers have been considering what I believe to be the most egregious gun control bill we’ve seen in some time, at least among those that legitimately have a chance of actually becoming law.

The measure would ban all detachable magazine-fed semi-automatic firearms.

What’s more, as I mentioned previously, there is a strong possibility of this passing. Lawmakers seem to want it. 

Debate on the bill was set to take place on Friday. There’s just a bit of a snag, which means that didn’t happen, and that snag could scuttle the whole bill.

After gearing up for a big legislative fight on the Senate floor, state lawmakers postponed debate Friday on a contentious gun-control proposal to ban the manufacture, sale and purchase of guns that use detachable magazines.

The main sponsors of Senate Bill 25-003, Democratic Sens. Tom Sullivan of Centennial and Julie Gonzales of Denver, said the delay is because negotiations with the governor’s office over the measure are ongoing.

“We’re working our way through it, and when we get finished, we’ll be in a positive place, and we’ll get that to his desk for him to sign,” Sullivan said Friday morning.

Gov. Jared Polis told the Colorado Capitol News Alliance this week he has yet to decide whether he would sign the bill if it’s passed by the legislature. He is generally skeptical of policies that target specific models of firearms.

But the governor said he’s not completely opposed to the measure because it would not impact any guns Coloradans already own.

“Like the sponsors, the governor takes preventing gun violence seriously which is why we appreciate the additional time to work together on this important issue,” a spokesperson said in a text message Friday.

The sponsors are working on amending the bill to alleviate Polis’ concerns and bring him fully on board. Five amendments were already added to the bill during a committee hearing last month.

If they can’t bring Polis on board, though, then the bill isn’t going to happen for what should be pretty obvious reasons.

Now, let’s be real here. This isn’t something that’s some kind of insurmountable hurdle. These are both groups that want gun control, so they’ll change it just enough to make it happen rather than see nothing passed.

After all, it’s not the ban that Polis objects to, but mentioning specific models of firearms. That’s not exactly difficult to address, and I think they’ll do as he wishes.

However, Polis thinking grandfathering in guns people already own makes something like this less problematic is, in itself, problematic. This is a heavy restriction that will put most self-defense firearms on the chopping block. While those who already have those guns might not be affected, millions of other people in the coming years will be impacted. They’ll be told they can’t have the best tools for self-defense because lawmakers decided their rights could be restricted in such a way.

The upside is that the delay gives gun rights advocates more time to try and disrupt the effort and point out the problems with the bill. It also gives gun rights groups’ attorneys more time to prepare the challenge that will inevitably come from such an unconstitutional bill.