Democrat-Led House Passes Semiautomatic Firearm Regulation

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The Colorado House of Representatives passed legislation on Monday to fully implement and enforce the state’s existing high-capacity magazine ban.

Senate Bill 25-3, which passed on a 36-28 vote, would require individuals to have a permit and complete safety training before purchasing most semiautomatic firearms with detachable magazines.

Per Colorado Newsline:

The bill passed the Senate in February. Lawmakers will need to reconcile the differences between the versions of the bill passed in each chamber — either through a conference committee or the Senate signing off on the changes made in the House — before it gets to Democratic Gov. Jared Polis’ desk.

“The United States is a leader in gun violence, not because of (the mental health) issue, but because we refuse to nationally — and until today, statewide — have some sort of meaningful regulation when it comes to semiautomatic, military-style firearms,” Democratic Rep. Andrew Boesenecker of Fort Collins, said.

Boesenecker ran the bill with Democratic Rep. Meg Froelich of Englewood in the House. It was sponsored by Democratic Sens. Tom Sullivan of Centennial and Julie Gonzales of Denver in the Senate.

It is one of the most consequential gun-related policies passed in Colorado in years. A comprehensive ban on semiautomatic firearms passed the House for the first time in history last year but died in the Senate.

Lawmakers spent all day Friday and most of Monday debating SB-3, with Republicans dominating most of the conversation by offering dozens of amendments on the bill to water it down or exclude specific parts of the state and certain populations. Republicans largely opposed the bill on grounds, according to them, that it infringes on the Second Amendment.

Breitbart reports:

Breitbart News reported the legislation passed in the Senate on February 18, 2025, by a vote of 19-15.

SB25-3, targets firearms which state Democrats define as a “specified semiautomatic firearm.”

SB25-003 says, in part:

The bill defines a “specified semiautomatic firearm” as a semiautomatic rifle or semiautomatic shotgun with a detachable magazine or a gas-operated semiautomatic handgun with a detachable magazine. The bill prohibits knowingly manufacturing, distributing, transferring, selling, or purchasing a specified semiautomatic firearm; except that a person may transfer a specified semiautomatic firearm to an heir, an individual residing in another state, or a federally licensed firearm dealer.

Denver 7 noted that, in addition to banning numerous shotguns and the AR-15, which is most popular rifle in America, SB 25-3 would also prohibit “gas-operated semiautomatic handguns that have a detachable ammunition magazine.”

Differences in the legislation passed by the House and Senate must now be reconciled before the ban makes it to Gov. Jared Polis’s (D) desk.

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