Colorado Bill Would Force Firearm Barrel Sales Through Dealers, Create New Crimes, and Build a Paper Trail

If you thought Colorado lawmakers were done regulating firearms, think again. A newly introduced bill proves there is no finish line, no “enough,” no pause, no reflection on whether existing laws work. This time, the target isn’t a firearm. It’s the barrel.

Yes, the metal tube.

Colorado legislators have introduced SB26-043“Record Keeping & Regulation of Sale of Firearm Barrel”, a bill that would regulate gun barrels, forcing most sales and transfers through licensed gun dealers, criminalizing private transfers, and creating new penalties for even people who never touched a firearm at all.

Spearheaded by the state’s most infamous gun grabbers, Tom Sullivan in the Senate along with Meg Froelich and Kyle Brown in the House, no other law like this exists in the nation…well except California, of course. 

Let’s walk through everything it does, line by line, including the penalties.

The bill creates a brand-new law: C.R.S. 18-12-118

At its core, the bill creates a brand-new crime category around firearm barrels. SB26-043 adds a new state statute titled: “18-12-118. Unlawful purchase or sale of a firearm barrel — penalty — definitions.”

What counts as a “firearm barrel”

The bill defines “firearm barrel” as “the tube through which a projectile or shot charge is fired.”

Then it expands that definition to include not just completed barrels, but also:

• any forging

• casting

• printing

• extrusion

• machined body

• or similar article

…that has reached a stage where it can readily be completed, assembled, or converted into a firearm barrel, OR that is marketed or sold to the public to become or be used as a barrel once completed, assembled, converted.

It also specifies that a barrel may be rifled or smooth bore. This isn’t just rifles, this is shotguns and pistols too.

What does not count

The bill says “firearm barrel” does not include a barrel that is permanently attached or affixed to a firearm. Sound familiar? SB25-003, anyone?

It bans most private barrel sales/transfers

The bill’s core rule is blunt. It is unlawful to sell or transfer a firearm barrel unless:

• the seller/transferor is a federally licensed firearm dealer (FFL), and

• the sale/transfer occurs in-person.

That means the bill is effectively trying to end the normal private-market sale and transfer of all barrels. 

• replacement barrels

• spare barrels

• parts upgrades

• estate cleanouts

• hobbyists

• barrel caliber swaps for hunting applications

Unless you route it through an FFL and do it in person…oh, and allow the state to track it.

It forces FFLs to record personal info on a CBI form for every barrel transaction

FFLs must legibly record the following information about every firearm barrel sale/transfer, on a form yet to be created by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI):

• Date of the sale/transfer.

• Purchaser/transferee driver’s license number or other official government ID number, and the state or territory that issued it.

• The make, model, and caliber of the firearm the barrel is designed for or used in.

• Purchaser/transferee full legal name.

• Full legal name of the employee who processed the sale/transfer.

• Purchaser/transferee full residential address and telephone number.

• Purchaser/transferee date of birth.

Dealers must retain these records for at least five years.

This is nothing short of dystopian.

Dealer penalty if they don’t keep the records

If a dealer fails to retain records as required, the bill makes them subject to the penalties in C.R.S. 18-12-401.5(7)(a).

Those penalties are administrative actions by the Department of Revenue:

• First offense: a warning describing the offense and possible penalties for later offenses

• Second or subsequent offense: the department may:

  • issue another warning, or

  • suspend the dealer’s state permit for a period the department decides, or

  • revoke the dealer’s state permit
    
    

• If the state permit is revoked under this subsection, the dealer can apply for a new permit no sooner than 3 years after revocation

So the bill doesn’t just regulate consumers, it creates another compliance hook to punish dealers, which is backed up by their new state licensing scheme complete with Department of Revenue agents who were given police powers just last year. 

Penalty: “Unlawful sale of a firearm barrel” by a Private Citizen

If you, as a private citizen, were to violate any of this, you commit unlawful sale of a firearm barrel, and the bill spells out the penalty precisely:

• Unclassified misdemeanor punishable (upon conviction) by:

  • a fine of not more than $500, and/or

  • 30 days imprisonment in the county jail
    
    

• Second or subsequent offense: Class 2 misdemeanor.  Colorado’s general sentencing statute sets Class 2 misdemeanor maximums at:

  • up to 120 days imprisonment and/or

  • a fine not more than $750

It creates a separate crime for “intent to sell” if you’re not an FFL

It becomes unlawful for a person who is not an FFL to possess a firearm barrel with the intent to:

• sell or transfer, OR

• offer to sell or transfer

So you don’t even have to complete a sale. “Intent” and “offer” are enough, even if you are completely unaware the state just enacted yet another ineffective gun law on top of the pile of shit they have already passed over the past six years.

That crime is called: “Unlawful possession with intent to sell or offer to sell a firearm barrel.”

Penalties include:

• Unclassified misdemeanor punishable (upon conviction) by:

  • a fine of not more than $500, and/or

  • 30 days imprisonment in county jail
    
    

• Second or subsequent offense: Class 2 misdemeanor
  
  Again: up to 120 days and/or up to $750 under Colorado’s general sentencing rules.

This is a big deal: the bill isn’t just regulating transactions — it’s creating a pre-crime style offense for possessing an item with alleged intent to sell.

It carves out exceptions

The new barrel rule does NOT apply to these situations:

• Sale/transfer to a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency.

• Sale/transfer to a federal firearms licensee (FFL).

• Sale/transfer to the United States military.

• Sale/transfer to a person who, in the same transaction, is separately purchasing a firearm and undergoing a federal and state firearm background check.

• Sale/transfer to a federally licensed collector acquiring/being loaned a barrel for a firearm that is a curio or relic as defined in 27 CFR 478.11.

• Transfers by operation of law or death (executor/administrator/trustee situations) — BUT with a key condition:

  • If an executor/administrator/trustee sells or transfers a barrel, it must be conducted by an FFL and is subject to this section’s requirements.
    
    

• Sale/transfer to an authorized representative of a city/county/state/federal government as part of an authorized voluntary program where the government is buying or receiving weapons from a private individual (think buyback-style programs).

It orders CBI to create the recordkeeping form

The bill requires the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to create a form for retail recordkeeping under this section.

It amends dealer-permit law to include barrel-record violations

SB26-043 also amends C.R.S. 18-12-401.5(7)(a) to explicitly add:

• “failed to make a record required pursuant to section 18-12-118” as a violation category that triggers the department’s warning/suspension/revocation process.

This begs the question if even though this bill doesn’t explicitly require backgrounds checks be done by the FFLs, if they will do them out of an abundance of caution because…

…The Background Check That Doesn’t Exist

The bill says a buyer may only purchase a barrel if they are:

• at least 18 years old, and

• not prohibited from possessing, receiving, owning, or purchasing a firearm under state or federal law

That sounds like a background check requirement.

It isn’t.

Nowhere in the bill does it:

• require a background check

• authorize a new one

• direct dealers to run CBI InstaCheck or NICS

• explain how eligibility is verified

So how does the state “know” whether someone is prohibited?

It doesn’t.

The bill quietly relies on FFLs to confirm, and if they don’t, they risk losing their state dealer license. Or it relies on after-the-fact enforcement, meaning:

• the sale happens

• the state collects the buyer’s personal information

• and if they later decide you were prohibited, you get charged retroactively

Effective date and applicability

If passed, the act takes effect July 1, 2026, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date. It also includes a safety clause stating the General Assembly finds it necessary for the public peace/health/safety, which prevents the citizens from petitioning their government to have it place on a general election ballot for the voters to decide. If it passes, it’s locked in.

Colorado is Dead Broke

Colorado is facing serious budget pressures, not a crime wave involving gun barrels. The state is staring down an $850 million to $1 billion budget shortfall, forcing lawmakers to make deep cuts to basic fiscal priorities like education, healthcare, and infrastructure. 

So ask your state reps and senators this: why are they proposing a law that would regulate, track, and criminalize something as ordinary as a gun barrel sale when Colorado can’t even balance its own books? Where is the money coming from to enforce this? Additional staffing, audits, investigations, record reviews, prosecutions while basic public services are being cut.

What You Should Do Right Now

This bill has several steps to go through before it could ever reach the governor’s desk, and you have multiple opportunities to engage along the way:

1. Share this information with everyone you know

Tell your friends, family, hobbyists, gunsmiths, hunters, and community members what this bill would do and why it matters. Most people won’t read the bill themselves but they will listen to you, and probably read this article.

2. Stay informed and connected

Sign up on our email list so you’ll be among the first to receive updates, alerts, and calls to action as this bill moves through committee hearings, floor votes, and public comment periods.

3. Follow our Legislative Watch page

On our 2026 Legislative Watch page, we’ll be tracking SB26-043 every step of the way, from initial referral to committee schedules, amendments, hearing notices, votes, and final disposition. Bookmark it and check back regularly. You will find updated information on all Colorado firearm related bills there.

4. Find out who your state representatives and senators are

If you don’t already know who they are, find out who your state representatives and senators are and write their information down. You can look them up on our Elected Officials page then reach out to them directly. Tell them you’re paying attention. Tell them you oppose regulating gun barrels. Tell them Colorado has more pressing priorities than parts policing.

Stay tuned. We aren’t going down without a fight.