DENVER (KDVR) — In a vote of 68-30, the Colorado House approved a bill that House Democrats say would fully implement and enforce the state's existing high-capacity magazine ban.
The bill would require anyone in Colorado after Aug. 1, 2026, to have a permit and complete firearm safety training to purchase high-powered firearms with detachable magazines. The bill would also prohibit anyone from selling or buying aftermarket accessories for semiautomatic guns, like binary triggers and bump stocks.
“This gun violence prevention legislation answers the call to action from our neighbors and will save lives,” said Rep. Meg Froelich, a Democrat representing Englewood, in a release. “We know that semi-automatic weapons become especially deadly when they are paired with high-capacity magazines, which is why Colorado Democrats passed a 2013 law to prohibit these high-capacity magazines. We’ve raised a generation on lock down drills and 1 in 15 people have experienced a mass shooting. We’re passing this bill today so we can save lives and prevent more Coloradans from having to go through the pain of losing a loved one to senseless gun violence.”
Opponents of the bill said that the measure would cost millions of dollars for local sheriff's offices and Colorado Parks and Wildlife to administer the new requirements. Those requirements are one of the following:
Complete a hunter education course certified by CPW and within five years of making the purchase, complete a basic firearms safety course Within five years before making the purchase, complete an extended firearms safety course, or Complete an extended firearms safety course more than five years before making the purchase and complete a basic firearms safety course within five years before making the purchaseTo make that happen, sheriff's offices would be required to issue firearms safety course eligibility cards, with requirements for that card including completion of a fingerprint-based criminal history record check.
RTD sees 52% drop in security calls after safety upgradesAmong those opposing the bill was the Teller County Sheriff's Office. On March 17, Sheriff Jason Mikesell called the bill a "train wreck" and "an issue for all Colorado citizens across the board, not just gun owners." He said that the financial impact on CPW will be serious.
"It's really going to just create what we originally believed was a registry, it's going to prohibityour ability to go get the standard weapons that you've been able to get without having to, what they like to call 'pathway to purchase' which in other words is just you buying your rightsback from the state," said Teller County Sheriff's Office Commander Sven Bonnelycke in a YouTube post. "It's going to be a bad thing for us."
CPW would be required to develop and maintain a firearms training and safety course record system that includes records of those holding a valid firearms course card and those who have completed a hunter education course, a basic firearms safety course, or an extended firearms safety course.
“As gun violence continues to devastate communities across Colorado, Colorado Democrats are again taking action to prevent future tragedies,” said Speaker Pro Tempore Andy Boesenecker, a Democrat representing Fort Collins. “When semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines get into the wrong hands, it presents a major threat to the health and safety of our communities. With this legislation passing today, we’re taking another step to prevent senseless violence in our communities and save countless lives.”
Colorado House Democrats said that the bill "would not impact the sale of shotguns, commonly used hunting rifles, semiautomatic firearms that have fixed magazines and almost all handguns." The bill would prevent sales of gas-operated semiautomatic handguns, but recoil-operated handguns "which make up over 90 percent of the pistol market," according to House Democrats, would not be impacted.
The bill would not impact currently-owned firearms. It now returns to the Colorado Senate where legislators will vote on amendments made in the House. If approved, without amendments, the bill would head to the governor's desk for a signature or veto.
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