'Gun Control' Has Metastasized in Colorado
By Lorne F. Dey. Aug 5, 2026
I recently read the article: "And Do You Have a Permit for your AR, Sir?" by Lee Williams published on July 24, 2026 and realized this is exactly what is going on in my state of Colorado.
Invasive 'gun control' began here on July 1, 2013 under then Democrat governor, John Hickenlooper, with a 15-round magazine limit on semi-automatic handguns and rifles. Manufacturers such as Magpul left the state as a result.
Enter SB25-003
Now, in 2026, under the leadership of another Democrat, this one governor Jared Polis and a state legislature dominated by still more Democrats, Colorado has stepped up its infringement on the Second Amendment with State Senate Bill 25-003 that was passed and signed into law by governor Polis in 2025 and took effect on August 1 of this year. This is an expensive and freedom-robbing mandate for Colorado citizens that includes hefty fees and rolls of red tape designed to both disenfranchise and discourage existing and would-be gun owners from purchasing a long list of semiautomatic firearms that use detachable magazines.
The Process
The process to purchase these types of guns involves at least 5 major steps:
Step 1–Fill out an application. This can be done online but it means nothing if one doesn't proceed to the second step.
Step 2–Get a name-based background check that must be attained from a government-approved, third-party vendor that can reportedly cost anywhere from $48 to $200.
Step 3–Present the background check certificate to your county's sheriff office along with a government-issued photo ID. The sheriff is supposed to review all the materials from steps one and two to determine if one is eligible or not to obtain permission to purchase a firearm. The catch is––the new mandate reportedly does not require any time frame for the sheriff to render his or her verdict to the applicant. The applicant must also pay a processing fee set by each individual county sheriff's office. My sheriff's office here for Pueblo County posted this among other info:
"To obtain the eligibility card, applicants must first complete the required application through Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Then the applicant must complete the Firearms Safety Eligibility Card application provided through the PCSO. This process requires a completed CPW application, a government-issued photo identification card, a completed third-party name-based background check of national and Colorado criminal history, and a $152 fee."
Step 4–If one is lucky enough or has been able to afford the process thus far, he or she must complete either a 4-hour, one day gun training course if one has already paid for and taken a Hunter Training Course provided by Colorado Parks and Wildlife or take a 12-hour, two-day course, if one has not. The cost at one state-approved trainer here in Colorado is $124.99 for the 4-hour gun course and $229.99 for the 12-hour gun course. Even then, one must get a score of at least 90% on the final exam in order to receive a card or certificate that gives the student permission to purchase their firearm of choice.
Step 5– If you have gotten the "card" or certificate allowing you to purchase a semiautomatic weapon requiring a detachable magazine, now you can go to the gun store of your choosing (already government approved) within the state of Colorado and make a purchase. Of course, you will still have to pay a $15 fee for another background check through the gun store and if you pass again (which you should, hopefully), you will still have to wait three days before picking up your new gun.
The total cost just to get government approval to purchase a semiautomatic firearm in Colorado is between $350 and $600 or more and depending upon a few variables and whether or not one has already done the Hunter Training Course through Colorado Parks and Wildlife, which also has a cost associated with it. And all this is before one has even spent any money on a semiautomatic gun.
Obviously, the point of all this is to dissuade people from purchasing semiautomatic weapons.
And also, as you can see, everything needed in order to get permission to purchase a semiautomatic firearm must be procured from government-approved sources so it is easy for the state to keep track of all the information about the applicant which is tantamount to a gun registry, in my opinion.
The good news, if there is any, is that there are organizations such as Colorado State Shooting Association (cssa.org) fighting this mandate in Colorado courts and with the recent rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court regarding AR-15s and other semiautomatic weapons as well as so-called high-capacity magazines, only time will tell how long this Colorado travesty will remain in force.
For more information visit:
https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb25-003 and https://cpw.state.co.us/specified-semiautomatic-firearms
