Colorado Firearm Barrel Bill Withdrawn After Polis Veto Threat

Colorado Politics reports that Senate Bill 043, a proposal requiring firearm barrels to be sold in person by federally licensed firearms dealers, was withdrawn after sponsors said Gov. Jared Polis had strongly signaled he would veto it. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Tom Sullivan and Reps. Kyle Brown and Meg Froelich, all Democrats, and would have required dealers to keep records of barrel sales and transfers for at least five years.

Supporters framed the bill as a way to address ghost guns and 3D-printed firearms, with Brown arguing it would close a loophole allowing firearms to be assembled anonymously. But before it was pulled, the bill had advanced on party-line committee votes and narrowly passed the Senate 19-16, with all Republicans and four Democrats opposing it.

So here we are, celebrating a tiny victory. Teeny, tiny, itsy-bitsy, squint-and-you’ll-miss-it victory. In Colorado, when the Second Amendment manages to survive one more legislative session without being gnawed on by the Gold Dome termites, we apparently throw confetti made of scraps.

The Bullet Point Brief

• Senate Bill 043 would have required firearm barrels to be sold in person by federally licensed firearms dealers. Because apparently a barrel, which is basically a hunk of metal with a purpose, needed to be treated like contraband with better paperwork.
• The bill also would have required dealers to keep records of barrel sales and transfers for at least five years. Nothing says “responsible gun ownership” like another government list waiting for mission creep.
• Sponsors said the bill targeted ghost guns and 3D-printed firearms. Of course they did. “Ghost gun” is the magic phrase that turns every firearm part into a legislative jump scare.
• Gov. Jared Polis reportedly signaled he would not support the measure, and the sponsors withdrew it. When Governor Gaslight is the thing standing between you and a bad gun bill, politics has officially become a thrift-store carnival ride.
• Minority Leader Jarvis Caldwell warned that if lawmakers start with barrels, next it could be grips, accessories, or buttstocks. Exactly. Today it is one part. Tomorrow it is the whole toolbox. That slope is not slippery. It is greased and wearing roller skates.

My Bottom Line

We will take the win. I guess.

But let’s not pretend this is some grand restoration of constitutional sanity. This is Colorado’s political class briefly deciding not to regulate one more piece of a firearm into a paperwork swamp. That is not a triumph. That is like thanking someone for not stealing the hubcaps after they already keyed the truck.

The Second Amendment I believe in does not require citizens to cheer when government merely fails to make things worse. It says the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Pretty clear language. Not “shall be moderately tolerated if processed through the correct licensed vendor.” Not “shall be preserved after a five-year record retention requirement.” Not “shall exist until lawmakers find a scary enough phrase to scare suburban voters.”

And that is always the game. Start with something that sounds narrow. Something technical. Something most people do not understand. A barrel. A grip. A part. A kit. A record. A transfer. Then act offended when gun owners notice the pattern and say, “Where does it end?” The answer, judging by the anti-gun crowd’s appetite, is: it does not.

So yes, tiny victory. A bad bill died because Polis apparently saw enough overreach to step away from the buffet. Credit where due. But the fact this thing made it this far tells you everything. Colorado’s ruling Democrats keep poking at the same constitutional bear and acting shocked when people growl.

In ColoradNO, we will take the scraps. But free citizens should not have to live on scraps.

Source: Colorado Politics