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Garfield County strongly opposes senate gun bill

SB 25-003 imposes restrictions on manufacture, sale, and transfer of certain firearms

PRESS RELEASE
April 15, 2025

Garfield County has passed a resolution strongly condemning a senate bill (SB25-003) that restricts the legal manufacture, distribution, transfer, sale, and purchase of certain semiautomatic weapons. The Board of County Commissioners’ opposition resolution notes that the bill requires “Coloradans to comply with costly, complex, and time-consuming mandates to exercise their constitutional rights.”

The county’s resolution also notes that the senate bill criminalizes the lawful conduct of peaceable citizens who sell or transfer specified semiautomatic firearms without state-approved documentation, and targets licensed firearm dealers, jeopardizing the livelihoods of small business owners.

“Garfield County Board of County Commissioners finds this legislation to be an overreach of state authority, an affront to personal freedom, and a direct threat to both public safety and the economic well-being of Coloradans,” the resolution reads.

“This is probably the most restrictive gun law action in the United States,” said Commissioner Perry Will. “The fiscal impact is going to be huge on all 64 counties. This adds a huge amount of work to the sheriff’s offices and to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. I have a lot of concerns about ma and pa-type gun shops going out of business in this state. This is charging our citizens a fee to buy back their Second Amendment rights.”
He added that while he supports firearms training, the impending lawsuits and unfunded mandates will end up costing the state money. Will noted that in District 3, there are more than 480 jobs in the firearms industry that could be in jeopardy by the bill’s passage, and more than 3,400 statewide.

Target-shooting enthusiasts spent $530 million ($75 million in Congressional District 3) on the sport in Colorado in 2022, while hunters contributed $1.6 billion ($272 million in District 3) to the state economy in the same year, according to the nonprofit Sportsmen’s Alliance.

“It’s huge to Colorado, huge to Western Slope, and it’s huge to Garfield County,” he said.

The senate bill requires Coloradans to pass a background check and pass a training course, such as hunter’s safety, before purchasing many semiautomatic firearms. Local sheriff’s offices would then issue firearms safety course eligibility cards, which would be valid for five years, to those who have passed the course.

“This is truly an unfunded mandate,” said Commissioner Tom Jankovsky. “It’s going to cost the state of Colorado $1.4 million for enforcement in the first year and $500,000 each year after that. It’s estimated to cost Garfield County around $250,000 to cover the cost of additional staff per year.”

Governor Jared Polis signed the bill into law on April 10, 2025, and it goes into effect on August 1, 2026.

“If I truly thought that prohibiting the external clips on firearms would make a difference, I would stand arm in arm with them,” Will added. “But this makes zero sense. It will not prevent one thing, and I think that the people supporting the bill probably know that.”

The resolution was passed by the BOCC unanimously, 3-0.