By Marissa Ventrelli | The Denver Gazette
A Colorado law passed in 2025 established new requirements for individuals planning to purchase semiautomatic weapons.
Here’s what residents should know before Senate Bill 003 goes into effect on Aug. 1.
From a ban to a training course
For decades, advocates have been pushing for a ban on semiautomatic weapons with detachable magazines, which they have described as “assault weapons,” though efforts escalated following the Columbine High School shooting in 1999.
After the 2012 movie theater shooting in Aurora, the Colorado legislature passed House Bill 1224, which prohibited the sale, transfer and possession of ammunition magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds. However, some advocates wanted more, arguing that shootings with such high casualty rates are only possible because of semiautomatic weapons with detachable magazines, which fire off rounds at high speeds and take less time to reload.
A decade later, lawmakers introduced House Bill 23-1230, which proposed prohibiting the sale, manufacturing and purchasing of semiautomatic weapons with detachable magazines. The measure, sponsored by former Rep. Elisabeth Epps, D-Denver, and former Sen. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, failed to pass through its first committee. However, the following year, Epps teamed up with former Rep. Tim Hernandez, D-Denver, and Sen. Julie Gonzales, D-Denver, to introduce a similar measure in House Bill 1292. The bill proved more successful that time, passing through the House before failing in Senate committee in the final weeks of the 2024 session.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT THE DENVER GAZETTE