“We respectfully request that the Second Amendment Enforcement Task Force launch a thorough investigation into Colorado’s anti-Second Amendment agenda,” the letter sent by the Colorado State Shooting Association read, according to a Monday report.
The Colorado State Shooting Association is Colorado’s state association of the National Rifle Association, and the appeal to Bondi follows a new state law signed by Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) that seemingly bans most semiautomatic rifles.
The sale or purchase of a “specified semiautomatic firearm” is barred starting Aug. 1, according to Colorado’s Senate Bill 3. The definitions for such firearms include: “A semiautomatic rifle or semiautomatic shotgun with a detachable magazine” and “a gas-operated semiautomatic handgun with a detachable magazine.”
A carveout for individuals who successfully complete a state-sanctioned firearms safety course is included in the law, but permitted individuals must renew their “firearms safety course eligibility card” every five years with a sheriff’s authorization.
All holders of an eligibility card will have their information placed in a state database, the report noted.
Myriad gun control measures enacted by Colorado are referenced in the letter, noting that at least 37 counties in the state have “declared themselves to be ‘Second Amendment Sanctuaries,’ in an attempt to oppose or resist the state’s efforts to undermine or effectively deny their rights.”
Along with the letter, “tens of thousands of signatures” have been collected by voters to be sent to federal officials, Colorado State Shooting Association Executive Director Huey Laugesen said.
“When we have government coming in and putting in insurmountable obstacles for a lot of people, and particularly low-income individuals who are much more likely to be victimized by violent criminals, that’s a major problem. That’s some serious overreach,” Laugesen said. “We won’t stand for it because it’s a very dangerous path that we’re headed down.”
Polis argues that the law will make Colorado communities safer by mitigating accidents and reducing violence, but Second Amendment advocates categorically disagree.
COLORADO PUSHED TOWARD A DE FACTO GUN REGISTRY
“Senate Bill 3 is not about public safety — it’s a deliberate attempt to disarm law-abiding Coloradans and erode our constitutional protections,” President of the Colorado State Shooting Association Ray Elliott said. “We are calling on Attorney General Bondi and the [Department of Justice’s] Second Amendment Task Force to intervene and hold the State of Colorado accountable for its flagrant violations of the Second Amendment.”
At least four members of Colorado’s congressional delegation signed the letter to Bondi.
