Senate Bill 3 is the latest attempt by Colorado Democrats to outlaw the manufacture, purchase and sale of certain semiautomatic firearms in the state.
The bill targets semiautomatic rifles and shotguns that are capable of accepting detachable ammunition magazines, as well as some semiautomatic pistols that also can use detachable magazines.
The Colorado Sun analyzed the measure and talked with experts to determine which firearms would and wouldn’t be affected by the bill, which awaits its first hearing at the Capitol.
The bill would outlaw any semiautomatic rifle or shotgun capable of accepting detachable magazines and that use ammunition larger than .22 caliber. If it uses a detachable magazine and ammunition smaller than .22 caliber, it would be prohibited only if it has a separate upper and lower receiver, similar to an AR-15.
Firearms that are manually operated by bolt, pump, lever or slide actions would also be exempt.
The rifles that would be banned under the bill would include:
- AR-15 and AR-style rifles, like the Colt M4 Carbine, Ruger AR-556 and Smith & Wesson M&P15
- AK-47 and AK-style rifles, including the Arsenal SAM7 and Zastava ZPAP M70
Many more models would fall under the prohibition. Under the bill, those firearms could be manufactured, sold or purchased in Colorado only if they have a permanently fixed magazine – either by welding, epoxy or soldering – that could not accept more than 15 rounds of ammunition.
Existing Colorado law prohibits magazines that hold more than 15 rounds.
The bill would prohibit the purchase, sale and transfer of semiautomatic pistols that accept a detachable magazine and are gas-operated.
(Gas-operated firearms use the pressure from a round being fired to insert a new cartridge into the weapon’s chamber.)
That includes smaller versions of many popular rifles, like AR- and AK-style pistols. Those models look like rifles, but they have shorter barrels and stocks.
Other pistol models that would be outlawed under Senate Bill 3 would include the:
- Century Arms Draco
- CMMG Banshee
- MasterPiece Arms MPA30
- Palmetto State Armory PA-15
- Sig Sauer MPX Copperhead
Those weapons would only be made lawful if they were manufactured with a permanently fixed magazine – either by welding, epoxy or soldering – that could not accept more than 15 rounds of ammunition.
Some other semiautomatic handguns that are gas-operated and that would be affected by the bill include the Walther CCP, Smith and Wesson MP 5.7 and the Desert Eagle.
Slide- or recoil-operated semiautomatic pistols would not be affected by Senate Bill 3. That encompasses most semiautomatic handguns.
Some of the models that would not be affected include the:
- Glock 19
- Beretta 92
- Sig Sauer P365
- Smith & Wesson M&P9 M2.0
- Springfield Hellcat
- Chiappa Rhino
- Colt Python
- Henry Big Boy
- Kimber K6s
- Taurus 856
Proponents of the bill said they exempted those weapons because having a fixed magazine on a recoil-operated handgun would make them very difficult to load and use.
Opponents worry some of the above models could be found to be outlawed by Senate Bill 3 depending on the legal interpretation of the measure.
No.
In states like California, Connecticut and New York, which have bans on so-called assault weapons, companies have made conversion kits to affix ammunition magazines to rifles like the AR-15 and make those weapons compliant with the laws in those states. The kits are intended to make the magazines removable only by using power tools.
However, those kits would not make semiautomatic weapons capable of accepting detachable magazines compliant in Colorado under Senate Bill 3. That’s because of a clause in the measure that says a detachable magazine that can be removed without rendering the firearm incapable of accepting any magazine wouldn’t comply with the legislation.
Proponents of the measure say Senate Bill 3 was written that way to prevent bad actors from trying to circumvent the prospective law. They point to the 2022 massacre at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, as the reason the measure was written not to allow conversion kits. The gunman in that shooting bought a compliant weapon and then modified it to accept detachable magazines.
Opponents of the legislation, however, say that gun manufacturers do not make semiautomatic rifles and shotguns with fixed magazines that would be compliant with Senate Bill 3. Additionally, the measure would make gun stores’ existing merchandise illegal overnight and make weapons more difficult to clean and make it harder to ensure they are unloaded.
It is possible that firearms could be made compliant with Senate Bill 3 by a gunsmith after they are manufactured but before they are sold or resold.
Federal law mandates that gun sellers comply with the rules of the state in which a purchaser resides.
So, for instance, Wyoming gun stores are required to comply with Colorado law when selling a gun to a Colorado resident. Therefore, if Senate Bill 3 passes and is signed into law, it would be unlawful for a Wyoming gun store to sell a semiautomatic rifle or shotgun with a detachable magazine to a Colorado resident.
That said, someone who lawfully purchases a firearm while they are living in another state and then moves to Colorado would not be in violation of Senate Bill 3 should it become law.
Nothing.
The measure would not ban the possession of any firearms.
Senate Bill 3 wouldn’t affect weapons that were lawfully sold, purchased or transferred in Colorado before Sept. 1, when the measure would go into effect. People could still lawfully keep those guns. They would, however, be unable to sell or transfer them in Colorado.
Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies would be exempt from the measure, as would armored vehicle businesses and the military.
Inoperable weapons banned under the measure could be sold, purchased or transferred, and gunsmiths could accept the firearms to repair them. Museums and historical societies could also receive the weapons as long as they are inoperable.
If the bill passes, it would go into effect Sept. 1.
Violators would be subject to a Class 2 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 120 days in jail and a fine of up to $750. A second or subsequent violation would be a Class 6 felony, punishable by up to 18 months in prison and a fine up to $100,000.
A gun dealer who violates the law would have their license revoked. Violating the law would also prompt the state to bar a person from purchasing a firearm for five years, unless they were convicted of the felony offense, in which case they would be permanently prohibited from possessing a gun.
The measure would outlaw the possession of rapid-fire trigger devices, like bump stocks, in Colorado by classifying them as a “dangerous weapon.”
The devices have the effect of allowing a semiautomatic firearm to fire at the rate of an automatic weapon.
Semiautomatic guns fire each time the trigger is pulled, whereas automatic firearms fire continuously starting when the trigger is pulled and until the weapon is empty or the trigger is released.
Possessing a dangerous weapon is a Class 5 felony in Colorado, punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.
