Colorado: House Waiting Period Bill up for Senate Floor Vote Tomorrow!

The anti-gun majority kept their promise to impose an extreme gun control agenda for the 2023 Legislative Session. Today, Senate Bill 23-169, a bill that denies Second Amendment rights to young adults, passed out of committee and will be sent to the House Floor for consideration. Tomorrow, House Bill 23-1219, a bill that imposes an arbitrary three-day waiting period between firearm purchases and possession, is scheduled for a full Senate vote TOMORROW morning, March 21.  Please contact your Colorado lawmakers NOW and ask them to OPPOSE Senate Bill 23-169, House Bill 23-1219, and ALL anti-gun bills that would place further burdens on law-abiding gun owners and sportsmen!

Senate Bill 23-169 denies Second Amendment rights to young adults aged 18-20 by prohibiting them from purchasing firearms. Adults who are old enough to vote, join the military without parent permission, and enter into contracts should also have their Second Amendment rights. This is an unnecessary restriction on personal freedom and choice. Such restrictions will not stop criminals from stealing firearms, getting them on the black market, or getting them from straw purchasers; they only infringe on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens. SB 23-169 passed the House State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs Committee today and will now proceed to House Floor for consideration.

House Bill 23-1219 imposes an arbitrary three-day delay on gun owners taking possession of their firearms and makes this delay longer or indefinite if authorities fail to complete a background check during that time. Criminals will not be affected by waiting periods. Most state inmates who were in possession of a firearm at the time of their arrest obtained the firearm through an illegal source or from a friend or family member. Proponents of the waiting period claim it is a “cooling off period” that supposedly gives the prospective buyer time to reconsider their intentions and protect against impulsive actions. This argument has no logical basis. Two-thirds of gun owners own more than one gun. A cooling-off period for these gun owners could not possibly have an effect, as they already own other firearms. Also, HB 23-1219 allows inefficiencies or failures by state bureaucrats to indefinitely delay Second Amendment rights.  HB 23-1219 passed the Senate State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee and is scheduled for a full Senate vote tomorrow, March 21.