Colorado Targets Guns
The Democrat-controlled state legislature has passed what amounts to a near-total ban on all semiautomatic firearms.
In the Democrats’ ongoing campaign against Americans’ right to bear arms, one blue state is taking infringement of the Second Amendment to the next level. Surprisingly, that state is not California. No, the state in question is the one-time gun-friendly Colorado.
After years under Democrat control, the Centennial State is fast becoming one of the most anti-Second Amendment states in the union. This is all coming under the guise of protecting children from “gun violence.”
The Democrat-dominated Colorado legislature has passed three gun control bills, the worst of which is Senate Bill 25-003, a measure that effectively bans the sale of almost all semiautomatic firearms. Democrat Governor Jared Polis signed the bill yesterday.
Under SB 25-003, all sales of semiautomatic firearms, including handguns, rifles, and shotguns, would be banned unless — thanks to a later amendment — individuals obtain special firearms training certification. Getting that certification is no cheap or straightforward task. Complete Colorado contributor and Colorado Springs resident Ava Flannell delineates the requirements:
- Schedule an appointment with Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
- Undergo a background check by a third party.
- Locate a certified instructor and complete the required training course. A 12-hour class must be taught in two days, not one.
- Pass a test with a score of at least 90% and be able to demonstrate that you can use the firearm safely. It’s unclear what firearm will be used for this, as students cannot purchase a gun before class to bring with them and even if the instructor has a rifle, it most likely won’t be the same as the one they plan to purchase because there are hundreds, if not thousands, of variations.
- Schedule an appointment with the local sheriff’s office for final approval.
- Upon receiving approval, when purchasing the firearm, complete another background check and comply with a three-day waiting period.
Irrespective of whether one completes the training course and passes it with a 90% score, there is no guarantee the sheriff won’t deny approval because he may just feel like it.
Furthermore, one must obtain a firearms eligibility card for $300, and it is only good for five years — after which one will have to shell out another $300 to renew it. It is impossible to deny that this infringes on the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
Adding further irony to this whole anti-2A crusade is that the justification for pushing these ever-encroaching gun control measures is for “safety” and to combat crime. Yet, as Colorado Democrats have increasingly passed more and more onerous anti-gun legislation, violent crime has worsened in the state.
As Bearing Arms’s Cam Edwards reports, “Violent crime rates in Colorado were at historic lows in 2013,” back before Democrats took full control of the legislature. “Between then and 2023, however, the violent crime rate shot up from 305.3 per 100,000 residents to 474 per 100K; all while Democratic lawmakers were imposing magazine bans, universal background checks, ‘red flag’ laws, carry restrictions, and other anti-gun measures including the repeal of the state’s firearm preemption law, which prevented localities from imposing their own local ordinances more restrictive than state law.”
In short, the more Democrats have squeezed Coloradans’ Second Amendment rights, the worse violent crime has gotten. This feature of greater violent crime being associated with stricter gun control has been a constant development everywhere it happens.
That’s because it’s not guns that cause violent crimes; rather, it’s individuals with criminal intentions who engage in these violent crimes. Firearms are merely a tool. Furthermore, when law-abiding citizens are allowed to bear arms, the level of violent crime drops. Guns don’t cause crime; criminals do.
Expect this law to receive a well-deserved court challenge soon.
