These guns will soon require a permit and training course to be legally purchased in Colorado

Starting Aug. 1, Coloradans will need to complete hours of safety training and obtain a permit to purchase a wide variety of semi-automatic guns. 

The new rules stem from Senate Bill 25-003, passed last year by Democrats in the state legislature, which bans the sale and manufacture of semi-automatic firearms that accept detachable magazines, such as AR- and AK-style rifles and pistols. 

The law provides a carveout for purchases for those who receive an eligibility card through their local sheriff’s office and who complete a training course offered by a certified firearms instructor. That will apply to hundreds of types of semi-automatic rifles, shotguns and gas-operated handguns, according to a 150-page draft list from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the agency tasked with implementing the program. 

The full list of guns that will be impacted can be viewed at TinyURL.com/CPWfirearmslist. 

What to know about fees, training hours and certification 

Being approved to purchase an otherwise banned gun will be a multistep process in Colorado. 

Information can be found on Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s website at CPW.state.co.us/specified-semiautomatic-firearms. 

People will be required to submit an application to Parks and Wildlife’s Firearm Safety System application link, which is set to go live on July 20. The application will then be sent to the person’s county sheriff’s office, which will ask for a background check and government-issued ID and will also charge a $52 fee that will be sent back to Parks and Wildlife. 

The sheriff’s office will then approve or deny a person for an eligibility card. If approved, that person will need to find a certified firearms instructor, a list of which will be provided by Parks and Wildlife, and enroll in an in-person safety course. The firearms instructor may also charge a fee in addition to the $52 collected by county sheriffs on behalf of Parks and Wildlife. 

For people who already have a hunting license through Parks and Wildlife, the training will last four hours. Those who don’t have a hunting license will be required to take 12 hours of training. The course will cover topics including federal and state firearm laws and de-escalation and crisis intervention tactics. 

Applicants will be required to take a test at the end of the training and will need to score 90% or better to pass. Their information will be entered into a state database that will also be available to gun dealers. Those who pass will be able to purchase a gun for the next five years, after which point they will have to redo their training. 

Parks and Wildlife officials believe the program could see around 25,000 annual applicants.

The new law does not affect semi-automatic guns that people already own. It does apply to guns purchased outside of Colorado since federal law requires gun dealers to comply with the laws of the purchaser’s state of residence. That means Colorado residents will still need to obtain a permit and complete training to buy a gun outside the state. 

The Colorado State Shooting Association, part of the National Rifle Association group, filed a lawsuit in federal court last fall seeking to overturn the new law, which it claims violates gun rights under the Second Amendment.