Yep, they're having a real one over in Colorado this week.
A Republican left his pistol unattended in the bathroom at the Colorado Capitol last Tuesday and now Democrats pushing a law that would ban threaded barrels (which would allow a suppressor to be attached) and aSsAuLt riFLes.
Looks like the legislation has been in the works for a while. The excuse? Mass shootings, even though modern sporting rifles and/or suppressed handguns count for a fraction of gun deaths in America.
Colorado House Democrats passed 'assault weapons' ban legislation Sunday to prohibit the sale of AR-15s and certain 9mm pistols …
Moreover, the text of HB24-1292 makes clear that a semiautomatic handgun of any caliber would be banned if it takes a detachable magazine and has a threaded barrel.
The ban also targets semiautomatic handguns that do not take a detachable magazine by making clear that any such handgun that 'may be readily modified to accept a detachable magazine' is banned as well.
And on the ban of modern semi-auto rifles:
House bill 1292 would define an assault weapon as a 'semiautomatic rifle' that uses detachable magazines and has one of a number of features. Those include a pistol grip, a folding stock, a barrel shroud or a threaded barrel. The bill would also ban certain .50 caliber rifles, semi automatic pistols, shotguns with revolving cylinders and semiautomatic shotguns.
I want to take a moment to remind you that in 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Heller that it is unlawful to ban firearms that are "in common use" for lawful purposes. The principle goes back to the 1939 Miller case involving a short-barreled shotgun. Because such shotguns aren't a common weapon for citizens for self-defense or the weapon of choice for a citizen militia, it was ruled that the feds could ban them.
But in Heller, when the question of handgun ownership came up, the Court said Americans had overwhelmingly chosen handguns as a means of self-defense, it was illegal to ban them.
(In other words, your God-given rights are dependent on how popular a piece of weapon's technology is.)
In 2022 in the Court's Bruen decision, the principle of common use was applied when striking down New York's extremely restrictive laws involving concealed carry.
So here in Colorado we have a ban on guns that are in common use (20-40 million AK- or AR-style rifles alone) and feature tech available since World War 1 over a century ago (shoutout to the 1911 bois). Suppressors are perfectly legal to buy as well. And as for detachable mags, well, consider this:
There are approximately 71.2 million pistol magazines capable of holding more than 10 cartridges, and another 79.2 million rifle magazines capable of holding 30 or more rounds in circulation. Such magazines are often targeted by progressive politicians and anti-gun groups for restriction as "large-capacity magazines" although in most cases they are actually standard capacity for the firearm's design.
Trying to ban this stuff would be like Dems trying to ban any computers running any software newer than the original MS-DOS. It makes no sense considering the 2A and what SCOTUS has ruled.
Still, lefty states are passing bans, like Illinois:
So now Colorado Dems are looking to copy the plot and throwing threaded barrels in there for some reason because I guess they think European assassins are lurking around every corner?
The law does not ban possession of these weapons, though the penalties for selling them are considered a "kiss of death" to any gun shop that decides to break the law by selling them.
From the bill summary:
An individual or entity that does not have a permit to sell firearms but sells or attempts to make a private sale of an assault weapon or rapid-fire trigger activator in violation of the requirements of the bill on or after July 1, 2025, shall be assessed a civil penalty in the amount of $750. A licensed gun dealer, licensed firearms dealer, gun show vendor, or other person who has a permit to sell firearms who sells or attempts to sell an assault weapon or rapid-fire trigger activator in violation of the requirements of the bill on or after July 1, 2025, shall be reported to the department of revenue.
And by "report you to the department of revenue," they mean you'll have your license taken away and have to shut down your store.
Some hope here for Colorado though:
Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, says he thinks banning weapons possessed by law-abiding people violates the Second Amendment.
"I believe it would make it harder for Colorado families to defend themselves and also interfere with the recreational use of guns by law-abiding Coloradans," Polis said. "If we want to reduce violence, we should invest in improving our schools to ensure that young people have jobs and do not turn to gangs, crime or violence of any form, and improving access to mental health services."
Yeah, but the dude also loves himself gun control, signing four such laws in 2023.
The Colorado Senate, also controlled by Dems, is set to vote next.
What are the chances that a Democrat-controlled state doesn't ram through unlawful gun laws?
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