As Colorado gun bill debate is delayed for second time, sponsors try to gauge governor's support

• By Marissa Ventrelli

  from Colorado Politics

• Feb 7, 2025 Updated Feb 7, 2025

The debate on the proposal to prohibit the sale of semiautomatic firearms has been pushed back, as sponsors are trying to gauge where the governor stands on the issue.

Additionally, some Democrats are poised to balk at the measure. 

Broadly speaking, Gov. Jared Polis has expressed skepticism about a state ban on "assault" weapons, pointing out that people can just drive across state lines, for example, to purchase those weapons. He has indicated he prefers a federal ban. In fact, he sponsored federal legislation banning assault weapons when he was a member of Congress.

The authors of Senate Bill 003 said they want to ensure it has the governor's approval before bringing it to the floor for debate.

The measure seeks to prohibit the manufacturing, distribution, transfer, and sale of semiautomatic firearms with detachable magazines and gas-operated semiautomatic handguns with detachable magazines. 

The bill passed through the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee on a party-line vote, following lengthy testimony from survivors and gun owners alike.

Floor debate on the bill has been pushed back two weeks in a row, as sponsors said they are still in talks with the Governor's Office. 

When last session's "assault weapons ban" passed through the House, Polis made it clear he would not sign the bill if it came to his desk, as he believed the matter was best handled at a federal level. The bill ultimately failed to pass through the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee — the very committee that approved SB 003. 

Polis has said the legislature should focus on guns used in crimes, not those owned by law-abiding gun owners. Last year, he signed a bill that authorized the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to investigate illegal activity involving firearms, as well as a measure aimed at stopping gun theft by requiring firearms to be stored inside a locked container if they are being left unattended inside a vehicle. 

While Republicans oppose the SB 003, it's unclear how Democrats, particularly the more moderate members of the caucus, will cast their votes.

Two Democratic senators, Nick Hinrichsen of Pueblo and Marc Snyder of Colorado Springs, have already said they will vote against the bill.

Hinrichsen, who will appear at a rally in opposition of the SB 003 in Lakewood this weekend, told the Colorado Sun that while he supports banning switches that make semiautomatic weapons fire like automatic weapons, he doesn't like how the bill would ban the manufacture and sale of certain semiautomatic weapons that accept detachable magazines.  

Hinrichsen said he doesn't believe the bill would do much to reduce the number of deaths in mass shootings. 

As a representative of a district with a large military population, Snyder told the Sun he originally signed on to the bill as a cosponsor because he believed it was solely aimed at enforcing the state's 15-round ammunition magazine cap — but he has rescinded his support upon realizing what the bill does. 

Sponsors said SB 003 will be on the Senate floor for debate on Feb. 13.