The Weld County Sheriff鈥檚 Office will comply with a Colorado Senate bill increasing regulations surrounding semiautomatic firearms, despite opposing the bill due to concerns of government overreach and an increased burden on the agency.
The bill, titled 鈥淪emiautomatic firearms & rapid-fire devices,鈥� severely limits the manufacturing, distributing and purchasing of specified semiautomatic firearms. It defines a specified semiautomatic firearms as 鈥渁 semiautomatic rifle or semiautomatic shotgun with a detachable magazine, or a gas-operated semiautomatic handgun with a detachable magazine.鈥�
Gov. Jared Polis signed the bill Thursday, and it will go into effect Aug. 1.
At a , Sheriff Steve Reams called the bill 鈥渙ne of the most draconian gun laws proposed in the state of Colorado in quite some time,鈥� and said, in his opinion, it is 鈥渙ne more step to a complete ban of weapons鈥� in Colorado.
At that meeting, three days before it was signed, the commissioners voted unanimously to oppose the bill.
鈥淔or the life of me, I don鈥檛 understand how some representatives down there do not understand the words 鈥榮hall not be infringed,鈥欌�� Commissioner Jason Maxey said at the meeting.
Part of the bill lays out requirements people must meet to legally purchase or distribute the specialty weapons. To buy or sell a semiautomatic firearm covered by the bill, a resident must have:
- Completed a hunter education course certified by the division of parks and wildlife and, within five years before making the purchase, complete a basic firearms safety course.
- Within five years before making the purchase, completed an extended firearms safety course.
- Completed an extended firearms safety course more than five years before making the purchase and completed a basic firearms safety course within five years before making the purchase.
To enroll in a basic or extended firearms safety course, a person must hold a valid firearms safety course eligibility card 鈥� also known as a firearms course card 鈥� issued by a sheriff. To get a firearms course card, applicants must pass a fingerprint-based criminal history record check.
Reams said the bill creates an 鈥渦nfunded mandate鈥� that will put a strain not only on his office, but sheriff鈥檚 offices across the state.
鈥淲ith 340,000 residents in Weld County, if you consider at least half are probably gun owners that might want to buy one of these types of weapons,鈥� Reams said. 鈥淵ou can imagine the influx of folks that will be coming into my office.鈥�
He also said he believes the bill will serve primarily as a method of collecting more taxes, stressing that it will do nothing to reduce crime.
鈥淚t鈥檚 ironic that legislature thinks that creating a gun will stop someone from committing a murder or a serious assault with weapon,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t hasn鈥檛 so far, and I don鈥檛 see how this is going to help, either.鈥�
Though Reams vehemently disagrees with the bill, any refusal to perform the duties delegated to it will 鈥渆ssentially act as another impediment to the rights guaranteed in the Second Amendment,鈥� the agency said in a news release Monday. The sheriff鈥檚 office is working on a plan to accommodate the new process before it goes into effect, according to that release, but will likely require additional staff and equipment.
The bill also requires the division of parks and wildlife to develop and maintain a records system of residents who hold a valid firearms course card and who have completed a hunter education course, a basic firearms safety course or an extended firearms safety course.
鈥淚t is not going to keep unlawful people who intend to do harm from doing so. They don鈥檛 care about abiding by the law,鈥� Commissioner Lynette Peppler said at the meeting. 鈥淚t only keeps law-abiding citizens jumping through more hoops and creates more work for government employees.鈥�
The full bill is available at .
