New Colorado Law Makes It Far More Difficult To Buy Semiautomatic Firearms

Enacting what gun-grabbers see as the next-best thing to an outright “assault weapon” ban, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday signed off on a law that will make it a much bigger hassle purchase many semiautomatic firearms. The law, which will face immediate legal challenges from gun rights groups, also takes aim at bump stocks and binary triggers, while increasing the penalty for violating the state’s magazine restrictions. It’s set to take effect on August 1 of next year, with violators facing up to 120 days in jail, a fine, or both. Repeat offenders could be locked up for 18 months.  

“The bill enacts some of the most sweeping gun regulations ever considered in the Centennial State, even compared to the few dozen restrictions Colorado lawmakers have been stacking up over the last decade,” notes The Reload‘s Jake Fogleman. The law affects the purchase of so-called “assault rifles” — like AR-15s and AK-47s — as well as gas-operated pistols that use a detachable magazine. Recoil-operated handguns aren’t subject to the restrictions; the bill’s advocates say 90% of the pistol market won’t be affected. Examples of affected gas-operated handguns include the Desert Eagle, Walther PPK, Sig Sauer MPX Copperhead and Smith & Wesson MP 5.7. 

This is a preview of what every state with an assault weapon ban will do if the Supreme Court strikes down such bans. Colorado is getting ahead of Snope. https://t.co/DMEHiYDYvX

— Kostas Moros (@MorosKostas) April 11, 2025

Polis had kept his intentions regarding the law to himself until it came time to sign it. “I am focused on improving public safety and making Colorado one of the top ten safest states in the country,” said Polis, who’s considered a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate. “This law is not a ban, and I have been clear that I oppose banning types of firearms.” Despite his claim, the law is structured as a ban on the weapons that’s only circumvented via specific exceptions.  

The law impedes the acquisition of covered weapons by throwing bureaucratic hurdles in front of would-be purchasers. First, they’ll have to obtain a “firearms safety course eligibility card” issued by their sheriff. That means being fingerprinted, paying a fee and passing a background check. “Sheriffs will have broad authority to deny applications from people seeking to buy otherwise banned firearms, including those they believe may be a risk to themselves or others,” explains the Colorado Sun. If you don’t like the decision, you’ll have to sue. 

As for the safety course, if you’re a Coloradan with a hunter education certificate, you can get by with a four-hour, in-person “basic” class. Those without a hunter certificate will be required to attend an “extended” course, which has to come in the form of at least 12 hours of in-person classes divided into at least two days. Either way, attendees will need to score at least 90% on the final exam.The eligibility card is only good for five years, at which point the same hoops have to navigated all over again to purchase another covered semiautomatic. Cardholders’ data will be stored in a new database to be overseen by the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife, a department that’s never had anything to do with regulating the firearm business. 

Having previously navigated the red tape and long waits to obtain a Colorado concealed handgun permit gets you nothing: “Because they want to make things difficult on purpose, it will be two separate permits (instead of having a CCW permit be an exemption to the ["assault weapon"] permit),” observed gun rights litigator Kostas Moros on X as he predicted other states will use Colorado’s approach if assault weapon bans are struck down by the Supreme Court. Coloradans can’t legally sidestep the law by making their purchase in another state, as federal law requires dealers to follow the rules of the state where the purchaser lives.  

The new law also raises the stakes for violators of Colorado’s 12-year-old ban on the sale, transfer or possession of magazines that can hold more than 15 rounds — with an exception for those that were already owned before July 1, 2013. Violating the ban becomes a Class 1 misdemeanor carrying up to a year in jail. Rapid-fire trigger devices such as bump stocks are banned immediately. 

“We’re not going to let this law stand,” a defiant Ian Escalante, executive director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners told the Denver Post, “whether it’s through litigation or whether we kick these bastards out and we replace them with people who will repeal it.”