Colorado Semiautomatic Firearms Law Turns Rights Into Permission Slips

The Sentinel, republishing Colorado Newsline, reports that Colorado’s new semiautomatic firearm purchase law takes effect Aug. 1, creating a permit-to-purchase process for many popular semiautomatic firearms that accept magazines, including AR- and AK-style rifles and pistols. Buyers will need an eligibility review through a county sheriff, safety training, and written and hands-on testing before they can buy covered firearms.

Supporters insist this is not an outright ban. And there it is. The tell. Government loves saying, “Relax, we are only putting a desk, a fee, a class, a wait, a database, an exam, and a permission slip between you and a constitutional right.”

Training is good. Competence is good. Responsible gun owners already know that. The issue is not whether people should understand firearms before using them. The issue is whether the state gets to make permission a condition of exercising the Second Amendment, especially for commonly owned firearms.

The Bullet Point Brief

• Starting Aug. 1, buyers of many covered semiautomatic firearms will need to complete a new multi-step process before purchase. That includes applying online, going through a sheriff’s review, taking a course, and passing tests. Velvet ropes around the Bill of Rights are still velvet ropes.
• The law was originally introduced as an outright ban on semiautomatic firearms with detachable magazines, then amended into a permit-and-training system. So when officials say “it is not a ban,” the honest response is: congratulations on finding a slower way to say no.
• The sheriff review includes a $52 fee for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, plus possible county administrative fees. Weld County reportedly chose not to add a sheriff’s fee, while Adams County plans to charge $50 for residents and $100 for nonresidents. Rights with fee schedules have a funny smell.
• Buyers with certified hunter education can take a four-hour basic firearm safety course. Others must take a 12-hour course over at least two days. Students must pass hands-on and written exams with at least a 90% score, and eligibility lasts five years.
• The law does not affect possession and does not require the process for ammunition purchases. It also bans rapid-fire trigger devices and is already the subject of litigation. In other words, the courtroom portion of the program has already begun.

My Bottom Line

Colorado Democrats keep dressing up gun-control expansion as harmless “process.” That is the oldest bureaucratic trick in the book. Don’t ban the right outright. Just make it slower, costlier, more confusing, more conditional, and more dependent on government offices that may or may not be ready when citizens show up.

The distinction matters. Safety culture is voluntary responsibility. State gatekeeping is permission. One says, “Be competent because lives matter.” The other says, “Prove yourself to the government before exercising a right.” Those are not the same thing, no matter how many laminated training binders get stacked on the table.

If lawmakers want to stop criminals, then stop criminals. Prosecute repeat offenders. Fix the mental health failures that everyone whispers about after tragedy. Enforce existing laws. Deal with people who threaten others before they become headlines. But making lawful citizens ask permission before buying a legal firearm is the political equivalent of frisking the choir because somebody robbed the bank.

Colorado keeps punishing the compliant because confronting the dangerous is hard, expensive, and politically inconvenient. The law-abiding are easy targets. They fill out forms.

Source: The Sentinel