Colorado assault weapon ban bill passes through first committee

A bill that would ban the manufacturing and future buying or selling of an assault weapon introduced in the Colorado General Assembly has cleared its first committee and will now go to the House floor.

The bill defines assault weapons, which include dozens of specific models including, but not limited to, AR-15s and AK-47s, and a number of weapon features. It also lays out a number of exemptions. Possession of the weapons wouldn't be banned if you already own them but it would ban the future purchase, importation and sale of them in Colorado.

The bill defines assault weapons as a semi-automatic rifle with a detachable magazine and one or more additional features such as a pistol grip, folding, telescoping or detachable stock, muzzle brake or threaded barrel, among other features. It would also include pistols with certain features, semi-automatic shotguns and .50 caliber rifles.

"Yeah, we did that," Democratic State Rep. Tim Hernandez -- a sponsor of the bill -- said on X of its passing through the House Judiciary Committee. "Next stop: House Floor."

"The vast majority of Americans and over 80% of Democrats support an assault weapons ban and are fed up with weapons of war in our communities," he said in a statement early Wednesday morning after the vote. "My entire childhood, I was afraid to die in school because adults wouldn't be bold enough on guns, and those fears only grew when I became a teacher and I saw my students struggle with those same anxieties. We must take action to protect our communities, especially our students, from the death and destruction assault weapons inflict on so many innocent people."

It wasn't immediately clear when it would go to the House for a full vote, but the bill passed through that committee with a 7-3 vote along party lines. Testimony lasted all day and the vote didn't occur until just after midnight on Wednesday.

Hernandez and other supporters of the bill, including co-sponsor Democratic State. Rep Elizabeth Epps, say that banning assault weapons could help reduce the number of victims in mass shootings, if not the number of shootings themselves.

"HB24-1292 will stem the proliferation of firearms most commonly used in public mass shootings, and takes a powerful step to interrupt the uniquely American epidemic of gun violence," Epps said in a statement. "Colorado is home to too many now infamous sites - schools, theaters, nightclubs, clinics, grocery stores - places now forever associated with mass shootings. Prohibiting assault weapon sales is a necessary step to prevent more tragedies; lessening the spread of these weapons is overdue policy change, not just more thoughts and prayers."

The bill's introduction brought out roughly a couple hundred gun rights supporters in a protest organized by the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners.

"We will continue to fight this bill until it is dead, whether in the legislature or the courts," the organization said on X in response to its passage of the committee.

"As a conservative and proud 2A defender, I am gearing up to fight this bill on the floor," Republican State Rep. Ron Weinberg said on X. "Thank you @RMGOColorado for coming to the Capitol to help fight this bill."

That bill will go to the House floor for debate on Friday. 

The bill is one of several being debated by state lawmakers this year. Others pertain to concealed carry, requiring liability insurance for gun owners and licensing for gun sellers.

Last year, state lawmakers failed to pass an assault weapons ban.

You can read the full text of the proposed bill on the General Assembly's website.