Colorado’s Gun Ban Era Begins: Unpacking the Controversial SB25-003

UPDATE: April 10, 2025 Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed this bill.

On Friday, March 28, Colorado’s latest iteration of an assault weapons ban, SB25-003, passed Senate concurrence of House Amendments after the bill passed both the State House and State Senate over the past several weeks. This was the final vote needed.

Make no mistake: Republican legislators, activists, and citizens put up a very valiant fight, but in the end the numbers to kill it simply were not there. The bill passed the House 36-29, with all 22 Republicans and 7 Democrats voting NO. Ultimately it needed 4 more Democrats to join Republicans for it to die. In my opinion, that was never going to happen. Through my conversations with many Democrat legislators and my own personal vote count, I thought it could possibly get as close as passing by one single vote if all Democrats stayed in line, but the last “kill” vote wasn’t there no matter how much we tried. No Democrat would be willing to take that hit. The bill passed after going through 4 committees – 3 which included hours and hours of testimony from the public, the majority of the testimony being in opposition. Thank you to those who testified! The bill was amended 35 times. It had 6 different fiscal notes.

Here’s what SB25-003 looks like now:

• The enactment date is August 1, 2026 so none of what you’re about to read will apply until then. The date was amended from the original enactment date of Sept 1, 2025.
• At its core, it is a blanket firearm ban, prohibiting the sale, purchase, transfer, and manufacture of semi-automatic rifles, shotguns and gas-operated pistols that can accept a detachable magazine. The language around pistols is very nuanced as it tries to exempt those that also use recoil operations, but ultimately the Colorado Attorney General would have the power to further “clarify” what is banned.
• Possession is not banned under this bill.
• Firearms with fixed magazines holding 15 rounds or less are exempt, as are firearms that have a detachable magazine permanently affixed (like with epoxy or weld according to the bill sponsors – BIG YIKES). There is no clear definition of “permanently affixed” and again the attorney general would be in charge of further clarifying that.
• For individuals who want to continue to purchase these banned firearms, a license to buy scheme was added. This requires a potential consumer to obtain a new “Firearms Safety Course Eligibility Card” which will be added to a new “Firearms Training & Safety Course Record System” that will be funded and managed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW). Once in the system, the consumer would then need to take training and pass a test. Here is the breakdown of how that scheme would work:
  1. Individual completes application that will be provided by CPW. This application had not yet been developed.
  2. Individual pulls their own name-based background check from approved provider and gives it to their county sheriff.
  3. Their county sheriff reviews background check, the applicant’s photo ID, and the CPW application, then decides if individual should be able to buy one of the banned guns.
  4. If the sheriff approves, the individual is provided with a “Firearms Safety Course Eligibility Card” and is entered into the new “Firearms Training & Safety Course Record System”; if the sheriff denies the applicant, the firearm prohibition remains in place for that individual but they can still purchase non-banned firearms assuming their Form 4473 is approved at the point-of-sale.
  5. Once the individual has the eligibility card, they can then take the required training. The training must either be a 4-hour Hunter Safety Course plus a 4-hour Basic Gun Safety Course, both completed within the 5 years prior; or a 12-hour Extended Firearms Safety Course that must be split into two days. None of the class can be completed online.
  6. At the completion of the training, the individual is required to pass a yet-to-be developed test with a score of 90% or higher.
  7. Once ALL of this is completed and paid for, CPW will add the individual into their “approved gun buyer” registry which gun stores and FFLs will be able to access when the individual attempts to purchase a banned gun.
  8. Other notes:
     • CCW permits do not count toward any of this. NRA was saying they do but that is inaccurate. Every amendment that was run to add CCW permit holders to this was killed by Democrats.
     • When purchasing the otherwise banned firearm, the individual will still need to complete a background check and comply with all state regulations, including the 3-day waiting period.
• The bill also bans bump stocks and forced reset triggers.
• The funding for this license to buy program will come out of CPW’s Outdoor Parks and Recreation Fund which gets a lot of its funding when you add the $29 state park pass to your car registration. It also gets funding from hunting and fishing licenses, state park camping fees, and more. Any money you give to CPW from here forward will be funding your own disarmament.
• There was an incredibly arbitrary list of guns that were exempted (meaning you can still purchase these without a gun buyers license); these include: Ag42 Ljungman, Benelli Argo E Pro, Benelli R1 Big-Game Rifle, Browning Bar Mk 3, Browning Bar Longtrac Rifle, Browning Bar Shorttrac Rifle, Fabrique Nationale Model 49, Fusil Automatique Modele 1917, Gewehr 43, Globco Mohawk, Hakim Rifle, Hk Sl6, Hksl7, M1 Carbine, M1941 Johnson Rifle, Marlin Camp Carbine, Mas49, Remington Model 4, Remington Model 8, Remington Model 740, Remington Model 742, Remington Model 750, Remington 7400, Ruger Deerfield Carbine, Ruger Mini-14 Ranch Rifle, Ruger Mini Thirty Rifle, Ruger Model 44, Springfield Armory M1a Standard Issue Rifle, Svt40, Valmet Hunter M88, Vz.52, Winchester Model 100, Winchester Model 1905, Winchester Model 1907, Winchester Model 1910.

The fate of this bill in the courts will be seen as this is by far the most draconian piece of gun control to ever come out of a state legislature. I break down various legal issues with different parts of this bill here and here.

The passage of this bill is not only an assault on our rights, but it is absurd to think it will stop mass shootings, as if mass shooters lack training and a license will instill morals in an evil person. Additionally, the firearms this bill targets are used in a fraction of murders, with them being responsible for approximately 8 murders a year in Colorado.

We continue to track other Colorado firearm-related legislation here. The 2025 legislative session will end on May 7, 2025. Until then, lawmakers can continue to advance and introduce bills.