DENVER — A bill banning the manufacture, distribution, transfer, sale or purchase of semiautomatic weapons with detachable magazines passed a second vote in the Colorado Senate just before 2 a.m. Friday. The bill would also prohibit the sale or purchase of accessories that increase how many rounds a semiautomatic firearm can shoot.
Senators will vote a third time on SB25-003 later Friday before the bill moves to the House of Representatives for consideration.
Learn more about the debate on the bill after midnight, in the video player below:
In the second reading of the bill during the early hours Friday, lawmakers made some notable changes to the legislation. There are now exceptions for people who complete qualifying firearm or hunter education. Originally, there were just exceptions for law enforcement and people who completed qualifying firearm-related education courses.
The certification process would last five years and include teaching safe gun usage, federal and state firearm laws, de-escalation, and crisis intervention strategies, among other things.
The people who would be allowed to purchase a semiautomatic firearm with a detachable magazine would have to go through thorough vetting by a local sheriff as well.
Anyone who violates the proposed law would face a class 2 misdemeanor on the first offense, and a class 6 felony on the second or subsequent offenses.
SB25-003 would not apply to any firearms Coloradans already own.
In 2013, the governor of Colorado signed legislation prohibiting the sale and transfer of magazines that hold more than 14 rounds of legislation, but Colorado Democrats said people are able to cross state lines to legally buy magazines in neighboring states. The bill's sponsors — all Democrats — said SB25-003 would fully enforce existing law.
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