Colorado lawmakers have created what may eventually be described as a compromise on Senate Bill 25-003, a controversial measure which has been amended 15 times to now allowing purchase of “restricted firearms” provided the buyer completes a safety course.
KUSA News is reporting the bill, as currently revised, “is not an outright ban but would halt the sale of commonly purchased firearms, particularly those with detachable magazines.”
But the amendment does represent what appears to be a popular strategy among gun prohibitionists, which is to require some prerequisite to the exercise of a constitutionally-protected right to bear arms.
Even Outdoor Life appears to acknowledge SB3 “seems more likely to pass now that lawmakers have added a permit-to-purchase amendment.”
Article II, Section 13 of the Colorado Constitution states, “The right of no person to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person and property, or in aid of the civil power when thereto legally summoned, shall be called in question; but nothing herein contained shall be construed to justify the practice of carrying concealed weapons.”
But can there be a prerequisite to the exercise of a right? That may be the question which could take SB3 to court if it becomes law. Some critics describe such requirements as being tantamount to unconstitutional literacy tests.
Washington state legislators are currently considering permit-to-purchase legislation. Critics contend such a requirement is designed to discourage people from purchasing firearms and exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
In Colorado, according to KDVR News, the bill passed out of the Senate last month 19-15, but there was a “strong push back.” On Tuesday, pro-rights activists gathered at the Capitol in Denver to oppose the measure.
As described in its present form by KDVR, the bill would require buyers of guns with detachable magazines to complete a training course. “Everyone would have to be vetted by the local sheriff through a background check and get a firearms course card,” the report said.
As noted by KUSA, the training course would have to have been completed “within five years of the purchase.”
The KUSA report also revealed Colorado gun dealers have been seeing a boost in sales “as the legislation advances.” It is a familiar pattern across the country whenever gun control legislation is being debated.
Another familiar thing surfaced in Denver, and that is the argument made by anti-gunners. KUSA quoted one woman who supports the bill asserting, “This is a level of firepower that a civilian does not need access to.”
