Colorado House Lawmakers Advance Critical Bill to Strengthen Colorado’s High Capacity Magazine Ban; Here is What You Need to Know About SB 3

Experts From Everytown, Vote Vet Representatives, Gun Violence Survivors, and Moms and Students Demand Action Volunteers Testified in the House Judiciary Committee Yesterday 

DENVER — Yesterday, following the tireless advocacy of gun violence survivors, veterans, and volunteers with Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, the Colorado House Judiciary committee advanced Senate Bill 25-003, which addresses the state’s existing high-capacity magazine ban by ensuring that individuals seeking to purchase semi-automatic military style weapons with detachable magazines receive a permit and safety training in order to do so, and prohibiting the purchase and sale of all rapid fire conversion devices.

“Colorado is no stranger to the devastation of mass shootings, many of the tragedies that have ripped apart our communities were carried out with firearms powered by high capacity magazines,” said Karen Chapman, a volunteer with the Colorado chapter of Moms Demand Action. “Addressing our state’s high capacity magazine loophole is vital in preventing future tragedy, and we are ecstatic to see this bill advancing. Thank you to the sponsors for championing this critical legislation.”

“This bill isn’t an overstep on anyone’s rights, it’s common-sense reform that will add safeguards to prevent someone from being able to commit mass murder,” said Carter Ferris, president of Regis Jesuit High School Students Demand Action chapter. “I refuse to become just another statistic. I refuse to let my brother, my friends, or my family become another statistic. That’s why students in Colorado continue to show up and testify in support of this bill. We won’t be another statistic.” 

Here is everything you need to know about Current Colorado Law and Senate Bill 3:

• High-capacity magazines make shootings more lethal, increasing the amount of ammunition that can be fired before a shooter needs to pause to reload. While Colorado enacted a ban on high capacity magazines in 2013 after the Aurora theater shooting where 12 people were killed and 58 injured, the existing law makes it dangerously easy for mass shooters and criminals to evade, as they can easily cross state lines to legally buy magazines in neighboring states and attach them to high-powered, military style firearms—which are currently legal to sell in Colorado with no safeguards.
• Since Colorado does not currently regulate any type of semi-automatic military style weapon, a potential mass shooter or criminal can legally purchase an exceptionally deadly firearm and obtain a prohibited magazine with relative ease. 
• SB3 creates a permit to purchase semiautomatic military-style weapons with detachable magazines. Requiring individuals to apply for and receive a card (often referred to as purchase permit) prior to a firearm purchase gives law enforcement an opportunity to deny permits to those who pose a danger to public safety, ensure that all firearm purchasers have completed a rigorous safety training course, and complete a thorough background check. 
• The bill would allow semiautomatic military-style weapons to continue to be purchased and sold so long as they have a permanently affixed magazine.
• SB 3 would also prohibit the sale and purchase of the full range of rapid fire devices which effectively allow shooters to evade federal and state laws regulating machine guns. 
• Let’s get one thing clear: this bill is not an assault weapons ban. Instead, it works to address a loophole in Colorado’s existing high-capacity magazine prohibition by establishing a permit to purchase dangerous semi-automatic military style firearms that can accept high capacity magazines.   
• At least 8 out of the 10 highest-casualty mass shootings involved semi-automatic weapons and a high capacity magazine. In the 2021 Boulder shooting at King Soopers, the shooter legally purchased a Ruger AR-556 semiautomatic pistol which he then paired with multiple high-capacity magazines, which were illegal to possess under Colorado law, and murdered nine people and one in the line of duty. In the 2022 Colorado Springs ClubQ shooting, the attacker perpetrated the attack with a self-assembled AR-15 style rifle and had several high capacity magazines –all illegal magazines under Colorado law.

In an average year, 977 people die and 1,392 are wounded by guns in Colorado. Guns are the second leading cause of death among children and teens in Colorado, and an average of 84 children and teens die by guns every year. Gun violence in Colorado costs $2,039 per resident each year. Gun deaths and injuries cost Colorado $11.7 billion each year, of which $156.1 million is paid by taxpayers.