Colorado Senate committee advances bill to ban guns that accept detachable magazines
Barbara Crimond | Feb 04, 2025 | Comments 0
Sen. Julie Gonzales of Denver, left, and Sen. Tom Sullivan, both Democrats, present Senate Bill 25-3 to a Colorado legislative committee on Jan. 28, 2025. (Sara Wilson/Colorado Newsline)
A bill introduced at the Colorado Legislature to ban the sale of semiautomatic firearms that can take detachable magazines made it through its first committee hearing just before midnight Tuesday following hours of contentious witness testimony. Senate Bill 25-3 passed through the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee on a 3-2 vote. The committee’s two Republicans voted against the bill.
It is the third time in as many years that Democratic lawmakers have attempted to pass a substantial gun violence prevention measure that would ban the sale and manufacture of certain types of firearms. Bills in 2023 and 2024 would have banned so-called “assault weapons” entirely, and last year’s version passed the House of Representatives for the first time in state history before dying in a Senate committee.
But this year’s bill is distinct in that it has more widespread Democratic support at the outset, it does not ban firearms based on make, model or non-magazine features, and it comes from a longtime advocate for stricter gun laws, Sen. Tom Sullivan. The Centennial Democrat joined the Legislature following the murder of his son at the 2012 movie theater shooting in Aurora and has sponsored successful bills on a “red flag” law, a waiting period for gun purchases, and a crackdown on untraceable “ghost guns.”
“I will never be the firearms expert that many of you claim to be, and I don’t ever want to be,” Sullivan said in his opening remarks as witnesses for the hearing filled three rooms in the Capitol. “But I can say that I have heard it all on this matter, and that I believe Senate Bill 25-003 is a pathway forward.” Sullivan said he is not in favor of an assault weapons ban.
The bill is also sponsored by Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Denver Democrat, Rep. Andrew Boesenecker, a Fort Collins Democrat, and Rep. Meg Froelich, a Denver Democrat. “As someone who actually has sponsored an assault weapons ban: this is not it. If you read the bill, you can buy an assault-style weapon as long as it has a fixed magazine and cannot be modified with high-capacity magazines that are illegal,” Gonzales said. She sponsored last year’s semiautomatic rifle ban bill.
Sponsors and supporters frame SB-3 as an effort to enforce the intent of Colorado’s existing large-capacity magazine law from 2013, which limits magazines to 15 rounds of ammunition. It would require that a magazine be permanently attached to the gun, ensuring that owners could not attach an illegal large-capacity magazine that they purchased in a neighboring state. Experts say they are also still easily available in Colorado from some bad actors.
“There has been a high-capacity magazine ban in the state since 2013, but you can still buy them freely. Someone could leave this meeting, go down the street, buy one and bring it here and put it on this table. That’s how easily they can be bought in this state,” Sullivan said. He said that there is little to no data on how many arrests have been made for someone selling or possessing large-capacity magazines and that violations of the law are typically added on top of crimes already committed.
Gunmen in two recent Colorado shootings — in 2021 at a Boulder King Soopers and in 2023 at a nightclub in Colorado Springs — used magazines banned under state law and had large-capacity magazine charges added.
What the bill does
The bill would ban the manufacture, sale, purchase and transfer of semiautomatic rifles and shotguns and gas-operated semiautomatic handguns capable of accepting detachable magazines. A rifle that accepts detachable magazines that use 0.22 caliber and lower ammunition would be allowed, unless it has a separate upper and lower receiver. Models that would be prohibited could become compliant with the law if manufacturers permanently weld, solder or epoxy the magazine to the firearm. Manufacturers could also offer new versions of popular firearm models with fixed magazines.
“Research has shown that these kinds of laws can help prevent mass shooting injuries and fatalities, but for high-capacity magazine laws to be maximally protective, the firearms themselves need to be regulated,” said Alison Shih, the senior counsel at Everytown for Gun Safety. “There is no good reason why law-abiding gun owners need firearms with detachable magazines that evade a law that has been on the books in this state for years,” she said.
Supporters argue that fixed, lower-capacity magazines would lessen the lethality of semiautomatic weapons used in mass shootings, since the number of bullets that could be fired would be greatly reduced. Research shows that states with regulations on magazine size have fewer mass shootings than states without restrictions, according to Everytown for Gun Safety.
The bill would not prohibit possession, and people who had the targeted weapons before the measure went into effect would not need to relinquish their guns. A banned gun in the bill could be transferred to an heir, someone out of state or to a licensed firearm dealer. “This will not impact a single firearm you presently own,” Sullivan said. “This is about the next one, and maybe the first one for the next mass shooter.” The bill would also effectively outlaw rapid-fire trigger devices by classifying them as a “dangerous weapon.” Those devices are also known as bump stocks and allow semiautomatic weapons to fire at a faster rate.
Violations would be a Class 2 misdemeanor on the first offense and a Class 6 felony after that. A dealer that violates the law would have their firearm dealer permit revoked.
Opponents, including gun store owners, argue that the bill would outlaw a large share of available stock and limit Coloradans’ ability to defend themselves against an armed aggressor. They say it amounts to a repackaged assault weapons ban, as most semiautomatic pistols and rifles take detachable magazines. “If passed, this would ban the most-sold rifle in America, the most popular home defense firearm, most common competition rifles and numerous commonly-own pistol and shotgun models,” said Ray Elliot, president of the Colorado State Shooting Association.
Colorado Springs firearms instructor Ava Flanell testified that semiautomatic guns with detachable magazines are built so they can be simply and safely loaded and unloaded, ensure certainty that there is no ammunition in the gun, and make it easier to clear any malfunctions. “As a firearm instructor, one of our greatest concerns is a student having a negligent discharge. In order to avoid this, we stress the importance of keeping their firearm unloaded if they’re not using it. This bill basically encourages users to have their firearm loaded,” she said.
Opponents also pushed back on the bill on Second Amendment grounds and claimed it would not hold up against the 2022 New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen decision from the U.S. Supreme Court, which requires historical precedent for gun restrictions. The bill does not have a fiscal impact, according to a nonpartisan analysis from legislative staff. The Department of Public Safety, however, estimates that it would significantly increase the caseload of firearms that Colorado Bureau of Investigation would need to test, requiring over $4.6 million in the next fiscal year, eight additional employees and a remodel of the CBI lab in Pueblo. There is already a significant backlog of firearms that need to be function tested.
The fiscal note’s author told lawmakers that based on a comparable crime analysis and feedback from the state’s judicial department, he assumed a minimal amount of additional guns would be submitted to CBI. He said the current large-capacity magazine ban amounts to about 67 cases annually and that about 1% of the state’s 2,000 licensed firearm deals would be in violation.
The committee also approved a handful of amendments to the bill on Tuesday night to exempt hunting and shooting guns that accept tube-style magazines, exempt prop guns used in film productions, and clarify that law enforcement officers who are required to buy their own guns can purchase otherwise prohibited firearms.
The bill will next head to the Senate floor for consideration. It currently has 15 sponsors in addition to Sullivan and Gonzales. It needs 18 votes to pass the Senate.
By: Sara Wilson/Colorado Newsline
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