Are semi-automatic rifles prohibited? In Colorado it depends on who you ask

Colorado Sen. Tom Sullivan believes the new law may be a way to stop the spread of “weapons of assault” nationwide.

Rather than banning certain guns, the law lists the characteristics of certain firearms, and it requires that these firearms have a permanent, fixed magazine of less than 15 rounds.

Under the new law, popular AR and AK-style rifles, as well as other semi-automatic center fire rifles, pistols and shotguns with separable magazines will be banned with exemptions from educational institutions, gunsmiths, law enforcement, and military units.

Additionally, the law imposes a process of purchasing designated guns, including firearm training, background checks, and payment of fees. Sullivan sponsored the new law along with fellow Democrats Julie Gonzalez, Andrew Beauzenecker and Meg Frolich, and the permit-to-purchase clause prevents the law from being banned.

“I’ve been recorded for several years and made it very clear that I’m not supporting the ban on ‘weapons of assault,” Sullivan told the Epoch Times. “Current AR still has all the features except that magazines are attached.”

Meanwhile, the Second Amendment advocates are opposed to new laws, including Ray Elliott, chairman of the Colorado Shooting Association.

“Our legal team is preparing to challenge Senate Bill 3 and is committed to pursuing justice through all available means,” Elliot told the Epoch Times via email.

California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia ban so-called assault weapons. These states prohibit semi-automatic rifles, shotguns and pistols with certain characteristics such as pistol grips, twisted barrels, flash suppressors and bayonet lugs.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, some gun manufacturers are producing rifles that use the same action as banned guns but do not have banned features. For example, the rifle may use the same internal parts as the AR-15, but does not have a pistol grip, handguard, flash suppressor, or other banned features.

Colorado and New Jersey laws provide a way to legally purchase certain firearms.

“The Colorado House Republican Caucus stands in a unified opposition to this violation of Colorado citizens’ Second Amendments and will continue to defend such violations vigorously,” the letter wrote.

“The second amendment is a right, and putting a paywall in front of that right is terrible, and that’s wrong,” Winter said.

“This law is not a ban. I make it clear that I am against banning types of firearms,” ​​Police said. He said the new law will preserve the second amendment while promoting public safety.

Police said his aim was to make Colorado “one of the top 10 safest states in the country.”

The prohibited firearms owned before the law was enacted on August 1, 2026 will become grandfathers.

“It only applies to the next (gun) purchase,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan said that on effective dates more than a year away, gun manufacturers are offering time to modify and produce law-compliant guns. State employees can also set up the permitting and record-keeping processes necessary to enforce the law.

Chris Stone, the director of state affairs for American gun owners, called the law a “complete semi-automatic ban.”

“Gore is clearly against this law,” he told the Epoch Times. He noted that the legal challenges of banning in other states have been in the court system for several years. The challenge to the Maryland ban was filed on December 1, 2020.

Huey Laugesen, executive director of the Colorado Shooting Association, said the new law’s record keeping provisions can be used to establish a register of gun owners.

Sullivan points out that guns are not registered under the law, but Rajsen said training records could identify the gun owner.

“People going through this process are going to buy these types of firearms,” ​​Laugesen told The Epoch Times.

He said certain firearms failed in 2023 and 2024, and after other legislation, state legislature gun control advocates introduced the bill.

Sullivan said the sole purpose of the new law is to close loopholes in the 2013 law and to promote enforcement of magazines with more than 15 rounds. He said despite the ban, large magazines with up to 100 rounds are still available illegally and could also be purchased from nearby states where there is no similar ban.

“Law enforcement agencies were clearly reluctant (unless magazines were used in crime (enforced magazine bans),” Sullivan said. “So we had to do something about firearms.”

He said he demands that having a permanent magazine on the gun resolve the issue.

In the case of Brune, the court ruled that the proponent of the gun law must show that the law conforms to the obvious reading of the Second Amendment and that it corresponds to similar laws from the time the Second Amendment was ratified.

“This bill sets it as a privilege that must take constitutionally protected rights and purchase from the government,” Laugesen said.

Sullivan expressed his confidence that Colorado law will be supported if challenged, without concern for the pressing legal challenges. He said other states, including Illinois, have similar restrictions and permitting requirements.