The Denver Gazette published an opinion piece by Huey Laugesen arguing that Colorado’s Second Amendment rights have not collapsed in one dramatic moment, but have instead been chipped away one bill at a time. His point is simple and worth putting at the top of the reading stack: what lawmakers sell as “common sense” reform becomes something much bigger when stacked year after year.
Laugesen walks through Colorado’s modern gun-control timeline, from the 2013 universal background checks and magazine restrictions, to red flag laws, storage mandates, local gun ordinances, waiting periods, age restrictions, expanded training rules, new taxes, dealer permitting, and now Senate Bill 25-003. His larger argument is that Colorado has built a complicated regulatory maze around lawful gun ownership, and that maze is getting narrower by design.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Colorado did not arrive here overnight. It got here by legislative drip irrigation. One “reasonable” gun restriction at a time until the right itself starts looking like a government privilege.
- Laugesen points to 2013 as the beginning of the modern era, with universal background checks and the 15-round magazine limit. Remember when those were sold as the stopping point? Cute.
- Since then, Colorado has added red flag laws, home storage requirements, lost-and-stolen reporting, local ordinance patchworks, waiting periods, age restrictions, lawsuit exposure for firearm businesses, and more hoops than a circus poodle.
- SB25-003 takes things further by creating a permitting structure around the purchase of many common semi-automatic firearms, including rifles and handguns widely owned across America.
- Starting Aug. 1, Laugesen writes, Coloradans seeking certain firearms will have to navigate sheriff appointments, background checks, ID cards, fees, training, state database requirements, and a written exam. Nothing says “shall not be infringed” like asking the government for permission and a hall pass.
My Bottom Line
I do not know Huey Laugesen, but I agree with the heart of his op-ed. Read it. Share it. Put it in front of anyone still pretending this is all just a harmless collection of “safety measures.” This is not safety. This is slow-motion constitutional erosion with a committee hearing and a friendly press release.
There is nothing in the United States Constitution that says you must obtain a permit to exercise your rights. Not for speech. Not for worship. Not for due process. Not for keeping and bearing arms. But Colorado lawmakers have decided the Second Amendment is apparently different. In their minds, your right exists, but only after you pay the fees, take the class, pass the test, enter the database, satisfy the bureaucracy, and hope the state feels generous that week.
And wake up, people. The playbook will not stop at guns. Once lawmakers convince themselves they can regulate a constitutional right into a permission slip, they do not retire the strategy. They reuse it. The next right they decide is too dangerous for regular citizens will get the same treatment. My bet is free speech. First they will call it “misinformation.” Then “hate.” Then “public safety.” Then one day you will need the government’s blessing to say what used to be plainly protected.
The Second Amendment is not a second-class right. It is not a hobby. It is not a state-licensed recreational activity. It is a constitutional guarantee. Colorado’s legislature is treating it like a bureaucratic obstacle course, and too many people are sleepwalking through it because the restrictions arrive politely dressed as “common sense.” That is how rights die in civilized places. Not with a tank in the street, but with forms, fees, permits, and elected officials smiling while they tell you it is for your own good.
Source: The Denver Gazette
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