A ban on numerous semiautomatic firearms — rifles and shotguns — passed the Colorado Senate Affairs Committee on Tuesday and is now headed to the Senate Floor.
The legislation is SB25-003, which targets firearms state Democrats define as a “specified semiautomatic firearm.”
SB25-003 says, in part:
The bill 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 bill prohibits knowingly manufacturing, distributing, transferring, selling, or purchasing a specified semiautomatic firearm; except that a person may transfer a specified semiautomatic firearm to an heir, an individual residing in another state, or a federally licensed firearm dealer.
The legislation puts private owners and licensed dealers in Democrats’ crosshairs:
The department of revenue shall revoke the state firearms dealer permit of a dealer who unlawfully manufactures, distributes, transfers, sells, or purchases a specified semiautomatic firearm. The Colorado bureau of investigation shall deny the transfer of a firearm to a person who was convicted of misdemeanor unlawful manufacture, distribution, transfer, sale, or purchase of a specified semiautomatic firearm within 5 years prior to the transfer. A person convicted of felony unlawful manufacture, distribution, transfer, sale, or purchase of a specified semiautomatic firearm is prohibited from possessing a firearm or certain other weapons.
Denver 7 noted that SB25-003 passed out of committee by a 3-2 margin. In addition to banning numerous shotguns and the most popular rifle in America–the AR-15–the ban would also prohibit “gas-operated semiautomatic handguns that have a detachable ammunition magazine.”
The legislation passed out of committee despite the massive citizen turnout in opposition to the ban:
They can’t fit us all in one room. There are THREE rooms at The Colorado State Capitol filled with citizens of Colorado concerned about SB25-003! That’s right. Keep it up Colorado. We need all of you today and everyday of this Legislative Session. #colorado #copolitics pic.twitter.com/fxhH6Y81DB
— Colorado 2A (@lip_tac) January 28, 2025
The Congressional Sportsman’s Foundation warned: “If it passes, SB3 will effectively ban all semi-automatic firearms that accept a detachable magazine. Anyone with even a passing familiarity of firearms knows that scores of rifles and shotguns in common use today fall under that definition.”
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, a Pulsar Night Vision pro-staffer, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly:
