A ban on the most popular semiautomatic rifles and numerous shotguns has passed Colorado’s House and Senate and is heading to Gov. Jared Polis’s (D) desk.
The Colorado Sun noted the bill passed in the Senate earlier this week on a 19-15 vote. The 19 votes supporting the ban were all cast by Democrats.
On January 29, 2025, Breitbart News warned a ban on numerous semiautomatic firearms — rifles and shotguns — passed the Colorado Senate Affairs Committee and was headed to the Senate Floor.
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The legislation, SB25-003, 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.
Denver 7 noted 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–Denver 7 observed the ban would also prohibit “gas-operated semiautomatic handguns that have a detachable ammunition magazine.”
Democrats gained Gov. Polis’s support for the legislation by adding language to the ban which allows gun purchasers to secure an exemption to the prohibitions by going through a process similar to concealed carry permit vetting, then taking a “four-hour training course.”
(Would-be purchasers who do not have hunter safety certification will have to go through a bit more training in order to secure the exemption.)
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:
