‘Gone Off The Rails’: Colorado Dems Stir Up Hornet’s Nest After Passing One Of America’s Most Extreme Anti-Gun Laws

Colorado Republicans are pushing back against Democratic Gov. Jared Polis for signing one of the most extreme anti-gun laws in the country this month, accusing him of turning a constitutional right into a privilege bought with permits and fees.

The law, SB25-003, bans the sale, transfer and manufacture of most semiautomatic firearms unless prospective gun owners obey a range of new requirements, including training mandates, tests and sheriff-issued eligibility cards. Republicans, like state Rep. Ty Winter, say it’s a deliberate effort to choke off lawful gun ownership through bureaucracy and paperwork — a view increasingly shared by Second Amendment organizations now mobilizing to fight the law in court.

“This bill is putting a paywall in front of a God-given, unalienable right — and that’s the right to self-defense and the right to keep a free nation,” Winter, assistant minority leader in the Colorado House, told the 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation. “Gun rights aren’t a red or blue issue. Gun rights are an American issue. We forget what the Constitution is for — it’s not to go hunting. It’s not to go target shooting. It’s to keep a nation free. It’s to keep a government in check. And I think that’s the first thing our colleagues across the aisle don’t realize.”

Under the new law, Coloradans seeking to buy virtually any semiautomatic firearm with a detachable magazine — most modern guns — must now navigate a three-part gauntlet: completing 12 hours of training, scoring at least 90% on written test and obtaining an eligibility certificate from their county sheriff — none of which will be free.

Winter says that’s the point.

“First and foremost, it’s the cost,” he said. “They’re increasing every fee in this state … if you’re getting dinked and dunked and nickeled and dimed every time you turn around, and that’s what’s keeping you away from your gun rights — and then you figure, OK, if they can afford the fees, then they have to take off work for the class. Then they have to take the time out of work to go talk to the sheriff. There’s just so many different things that make it hard.”