The Colorado House of Representatives passed a bill Monday that would require people to receive safety training before buying most semiautomatic firearms with detachable magazines.

Senate Bill 25-3 passed on a 36-28 vote. Democratic Representatives Regina English, Shiela Lieder, Bob Marshall, Matthew Martinez, Tisha Mauro, Katie Stewart and Amy Paschal joined Republicans in voting against it.

The bill passed the Senate in February. Lawmakers will need to reconcile the differences between the versions of the bill passed in each chamber — either through a conference committee or the Senate signing off on the changes made in the House — before it gets to Democratic Governor Jared Polis’ desk.

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“The United States is a leader in gun violence, not because of (the mental health) issue, but because we refuse to nationally — and until today, statewide — have some sort of meaningful regulation when it comes to semiautomatic, military-style firearms,” Democratic Representative Andrew Boesenecker of Fort Collins, said.

Boesenecker ran the bill with Democratic Representative Meg Froelich of Englewood in the House. It was sponsored by Democratic Senators Tom Sullivan of Centennial and Julie Gonzales of Denver in the Senate.

It is one of the most consequential gun-related policies passed in Colorado in years. A comprehensive ban on semiautomatic firearms passed the House for the first time in history last year but died in the Senate.

Lawmakers spent all day Friday and most of Monday debating SB-3, with Republicans dominating most of the conversation by offering dozens of amendments on the bill to water it down or exclude specific parts of the state and certain populations. Republicans largely opposed the bill on grounds, according to them, that it infringes on the Second Amendment.

“I cannot, and will not, cast a vote in favor of a bill that targets the constitutional rights of the law-abiding citizens of my district, while doing nothing to address the criminals who misuse their freedoms to hurt the innocent,” said Representative Jarvis Caldwell, a Colorado Springs Republican.

A handful of amendments did pass, however, including one from Republican Representative Ryan Armagost of Berthoud that requires an annual transparency report on the costs of the bill’s implementation. Another amendment moved the bill’s enactment date from September 2025 to August 2026.

I’ve heard that this bill is simply about a safety course. This is not about a safety course — this is about an unattainable goal.

The bill concerns semiautomatic rifles or semiautomatic shotguns with detachable magazines and gas-operated semiautomatic handguns with detachable magazines, definitions that encompass a large share of the firearms market. A person would need to apply for an eligibility card with their local sheriff, take a safety course and pass a test to become eligible to buy one of those guns.

A person who does not take that safety course could still buy a semiautomatic gun if it has a fixed magazine.

The bill does not prohibit or limit possession. It also exempts about 40 rifles commonly used for hunting.

Polis appeased

The bill in its original form did not include the safety course pathway and would have outright banned the sale and manufacture of semiautomatic firearms with detachable magazines. Supporters framed that policy as a way to enforce the state’s existing high-capacity magazine ban, arguing that it is still too easy for a person to buy a magazine with more than 15 rounds of ammunition. Requiring a fixed magazine, they said, forces a shooter to pause and reload their gun and would slow down potential mass shooters.

Democrats amended the bill in the Senate to appease Polis, who has raised concerns over broad firearm bans.

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Republicans argued that it could take years for a person to obtain the certification necessary to buy the guns covered in the bill. They pointed to current months-long wait times to get a hunter safety certification from Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Someone with that certification would need to take an additional four hours of training under the bill, versus 12 hours without it.

A new safety course requirement could create arduous backlogs and a financial barrier, opponents said.

“I’ve heard that this bill is simply about a safety course. This is not about a safety course — this is about an unattainable goal, an unattainable carrot at the end of a stick for you to just simply get permission from our state to purchase a firearm. It’s about making the purchase of a firearm unattainable for law-abiding citizens,” Armagost said.

As of Monday, there were spots available in four of the 17 standard in-person courses that CPW offers until the end of April, in Delta, Colorado Springs, Lamar and Trinidad. There was less availability for in-person courses that complement online-instruction.

The courses that would be created under the bill would be through instructors approved by local sheriffs.

A recent nonpartisan fiscal analysis of the bill assumes that about 50,000 Coloradans a year would apply for eligibility to buy the types of guns in the bill.