Less than a week after Gov. Jared Polis signed Colorado’s latest gun-control law, Republicans in the legislature announced Wednesday they have asked the federal government to investigate whether the measure infringes on the U.S. Constitution.
Republicans in the Colorado House of Representative say they have sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi asking her to review the law’s constitutionality through the Department of Justice’s newly-created Second Amendment Enforcement Task Force.
“When state leaders ignore constitutional concerns and refuse to even allow a resolution requesting judicial review, federal oversight becomes not only appropriate, but absolutely necessary,” Rep. Ryan Armagost, a Berthoud Republican, said at a news conference Wednesday at the Colorado Capitol.
The law, Senate Bill 3, makes it illegal to buy, sell and manufacture a wide range of semiautomatic rifles, shotguns, pistols, as well as some semiautomatic handguns, that use detachable ammunition magazines.
While the manufacturing prohibition has no workarounds, people may buy the otherwise banned weapons if they get a special permit. To obtain a permit, buyers would have to go through up to 12 hours of safety training and get approval from their local sheriff.
The ban goes into effect in August 2026.
Supporters, including almost all of the legislature’s Democrats, say the law will help limit the carnage caused during mass shootings.
House Republicans argue the legislation is unconstitutional because it undermines the Second Amendment. In their letter, they called the law’s passage “an emergency” for Coloradans’ self-defense and that they “are calling on the federal administration to aid our efforts in challenging the constitutionality” of the measure.
They were joined for Wednesday’s announcement by several county sheriffs who support involving the federal government.
“We have to do anything and everything we can to find out if there’s a way to overturn this,” said Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams, a Republican. “If we really want to focus on preventing crime, we need to focus on how to hold criminals accountable and keep them in jail and prison longer for the crimes that they commit.”
State Senate Republicans did not sign onto Monday’s letter to Attorney General Bondi, nor did they join their House colleagues during Wednesday’s announcement.
Democrats said they are confident the law will stand up to any test because they consulted regularly with the state’s attorney general while crafting the bill.
“It’s important that whatever is being done in the state of Colorado, it’s being thoroughly reviewed, and we continue to do things the right way,” said Senate President James Coleman, D-Denver.
Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, D-Denver, called House Republicans’ letter politically motivated rather than based in actual policy.
It’s unusual for lawmakers to directly petition the U.S. Justice Department to review a freshly signed state law. Traditionally, disputes over a state law’s constitutionality are worked out in the courts.
Republicans’ letter said state-level legal challenges will be forthcoming, but not from them.
“We as House Republicans are not going to use taxpayer money to file a lawsuit,” said Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, R-Colorado Springs. “I’m sure there are plenty of organizations and citizen right groups that may do that.”
The executive director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, Ian Escalante, said Wednesday the group is actively working with lawyers to prepare a lawsuit, but that filing may have to wait because the law doesn’t go into effect until next summer.
Bondi was appointed to the top law enforcement position in the country by President Donald Trump. She launched the Second Amendment Enforcement Task Force last week to “to advance President Trump’s pro-gun agenda and protect gun owners from overreach.”
Republicans said they had not received a response from Bondi as of Wednesday morning.
