"The 2nd Amendment does not give us the right to bear arms, it AFFIRMS it." -Alicia Garcia
FOUNDATIONAL U.S. SUPREME COURT CASES FOR THE 2A
District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008)
Landmark case affirming the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to possess firearms unconnected with militia service.
Struck down Washington, D.C.’s handgun ban and safe-storage law.
“The Second Amendment confers an individual right to keep and bear arms.” — Justice Scalia
McDonald v. City of Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 (2010)
Incorporated the Second Amendment against state and local governments via the 14th Amendment.
Invalidated Chicago’s handgun ban.
“The right to keep and bear arms is fundamental to our scheme of ordered liberty.”
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, 597 U.S. (2022)
Established the “historical tradition” test for all modern gun regulations.
Struck down New York’s “may-issue” concealed carry permit system.
“The government must demonstrate that the regulation is consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.” — Justice Thomas
'You can't always carry a cop on your back, but you can carry a gun on your hip'. - Teddy Collins
MAJOR CIRCUIT COURT & FEDERAL CASES
Mock v. Garland, 75 F.4th 563 (5th Cir. 2023)
Challenged ATF’s pistol brace rule as exceeding statutory and constitutional bounds.
5th Circuit granted an injunction and applied Bruen to agency overreach.
Ezell v. City of Chicago (Ezell I and II), 651 F.3d 684 (7th Cir. 2011); 846 F.3d 888 (7th Cir. 2017)
Struck down city ordinances that restricted gun ranges and training facilities.
Recognized the right to acquire and train with firearms as part of the Second Amendment.
Caniglia v. Strom, 593 U.S. ___ (2021)
SCOTUS ruled police may not enter a home and seize firearms without a warrant under the “community caretaking” exception.
Strong defense of the Fourth and Second Amendments working together.
The Legislative session for 2025 contained 25 bills that included the word 'firearm'.
Colorado's 'permit to purchase' and ban on magazine fed firearms goes into effect August 1, 2026
Semiautomatic Firearms & Rapid-Fire Device
SB 25‑003 transforms a constitutional right into a conditional privilege. It burdens responsible gun owners with excessive training, subjective approvals, potential registry creation, and costly local administration—all to address criminal misuse that it will likely fail to curb. Our freedoms should not hinge on navigating an arbitrary permit process. This bill infringes fundamental rights and sets a troubling precedent for the future of firearm liberty in Colorado.
1. Imposes undue bureaucratic burdens
- It forces Coloradans to obtain a Firearms Safety Course Eligibility Card, complete up to 12 hours of training and testing, submit to a fingerprint-based background check, and pay fees—merely to purchase firearms that are constitutionally protected tools.
2. Creates a de facto gun registry
- By requiring state-controlled tracking of who holds eligibility cards—and, implicitly, who can buy semiautomatic firearms—it establishes a registry, a dangerous tool that can pave the way to future confiscation
3. Targets law‑abiding citizens, not criminals
- The legislation restricts law‑abiding gun owners, while criminals who obtain weapons illegally remain unaffected.
- Experience shows bans on semiautomatic firearms have little impact on criminal behavior; guns used in most violent crimes are handguns, not rifle-style firearms
4. Sets a dangerous constitutional precedent
- SB 25‑003 establishes a legally questionable “permit‑to‑purchase” system based on subjective sheriff discretion—a model recently struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in its Bruen decision5. Imposes local government costs and enforcement burdens.
5. Imposes local government costs and enforcement burdens
- It requires sheriffs and local enforcement agencies to administer background checks, maintain eligibility systems, and manage appeals—without funding—which will drain local budgets while leaving criminals untouched.
New bill turns gun possession to 'intimidation'.
Freedom from Intimidation in Elections Act
HB 25‑1225—the so‑called “Freedom from Intimidation in Elections Act”—is a serious affront to our constitutional right to bear arms. Under this law, any law‑abiding Coloradan who openly carries a firearm, imitation firearm, or even a toy gun while voting, canvassing, counting ballots, or assisting others is automatically presumed guilty of intimidation—unless they can somehow overcome that presumption in court.
This effectively criminalizes open carry in election settings—even for those who mean no harm—and shifts the burden of proof to the individual. It doesn’t matter whether you have peaceful intent; your rights are stripped away by presumption alone. Courts can even block your ability to carry, extending restrictions beyond polling places, including ON YOUR OWN PROPERTY OR IN YOUR OWN HOME.
HB 25‑1225 weaponizes election-day environments against Americans who choose to exercise their rights openly. It’s not just a regulation—it’s an infringement on the foundational freedoms guaranteed by the Second Amendment and Article II, Section 13 of the Colorado Constitution. Coloradans deserve the right to carry openly without automatic guilt by association or heavy-handed civil suits.
Bill takes away an individuals right to buy firearms.
Voluntary Do-Not-Sell Firearms Waiver
SB 25‑034 may sound innocuous, but in reality it undermines fundamental liberty under the guise of self-help. What appears as a voluntary waiver is, in truth, an invitation for coercion and an erosion of due process rights. This is a 'self red flag' bill, taking lead from HB19-1177, sponsored by notoriously anti gun House Representative, Tom Sullivan (District 27, Arapahoe & Douglas Counties)
Turns a right into a revocable permission slip
By allowing individuals to submit themselves to a 30‑day ban on firearm purchases, the bill treats the Constitution as a privilege. Worse, the state enters that waiver into the federal NICS system, which effectively turns it into a self‑flagging red flag order—publicly recorded, binding, and difficult to reverse.
A gateway to coercion by third‑parties
The waiver invites “helpful” friends, family members, therapists, or even courts to pressure individuals into opting-in—especially in emotionally vulnerable moments. Reddit commenters rightly warn:
“They could do that right now with red‑flag laws” and “Provides a lever for aggressive law enforcement personnel to push for ‘voluntary’ disarmament.
Waives due process and cedes control to the state
Once the waiver is entered, the individual loses the right to buy firearms for 30 days—without any judicial involvement, public hearing, or factual finding. The government doesn’t need probable cause or due process to label you prohibited.
Creates a dangerous infra‑structure for future abuse
This “voluntary” system builds the infrastructure for forced red flag orders. Once the government has the portal, the database, the protocols—and a precedent of NICS-based self-use—it’s an easy step to allow others to opt you in, without any consent.
SB 25‑034 poses less a solution and more a slippery slope. It erodes due process protections, empowers coercion through friends or professionals, and sets the foundation for a state‑directed form of disarmament. We must reject this breach of our constitutional rights and reject the notion that liberty must be voluntarily signed away.
Manditory anti gun information distributed in schools
Gun Violence Prevention & Parents of Students
Colorado HB 25‑1250 doesn’t just threaten the Second Amendment—it undermines broader civil liberties by mandating a one-sided narrative into schools and parenting, without parental consent or balanced perspectives. By requiring K–12 schools to distribute state-crafted “gun violence prevention” materials to every parent and post them online, it intrudes on parental rights and freedom of thought, effectively steering families toward a biased worldview. There’s no requirement to include content on safe, legal firearm ownership or the benefits of responsible gun culture—only state-approved messaging rooted in fear rather than factual safety education.
This forced messaging infringes on educational autonomy—schools become conduits for government propaganda instead of fostering open dialogue. It bypasses informed consent, denying parents the choice to opt out or offer alternative viewpoints. In doing so, HB 25‑1250 strays far beyond public safety, into the realm of ideological indoctrination, eroding trust in public institutions and conditioning future generations to accept state-imposed beliefs about their constitutional rights.
HB25-1314 creates a new, Colorado Gestapo, targeting Gun Shops
Peace Officer Status for Certain Department of Revenue Employees
Colorado’s HB 25‑1314 doesn’t just regulate—it militarizes. It grants peace‑officer powers to Department of Revenue employees in the Firearms Dealer Division, empowering them to conduct criminal investigations, make arrests, and enforce any state law—not just tax-related statutes—against gun dealers and customers. Certified via POST training, these revenue agents will effectively act as a new police force specifically targeting the firearm industry.
This isn’t oversight—it’s occupation. By empowering unelected bureaucrats with broad law enforcement authority and investigative discretion, HB 25‑1314 weaponizes the revenue department against legal, licensed gun dealers. It creates a pathway for harassment, arbitrary enforcement, and regulatory overreach. Rather than respecting the rights of lawful businesses and citizens, this bill empowers a new cadre of state enforcers with zero accountability to local communities—eerily reminiscent of authoritarian “Gestapo” tactics.
HB25-1238 is the death of Colorado Gun Shows as we know it.
Gun Show Requirements
HB 25‑1238, under the guise of “gun-show safety,” dramatically curtails firearm access in Colorado—undermining not only the Second Amendment but the principle of equal rights for all. According to the bill’s own text, it forces gun-show promoters to draft and submit extensive security plans, purchase costly liability insurance, install constant surveillance at entrances, exits, and parking areas, and enforce age restrictions barring anyone under 18 (or even 21 per some versions) unless accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Beyond administrators, the law dictates vendor rules that decimate grassroots firearm transactions: only federally licensed dealers with state permits can participate, all firearms must be unloaded, physically affixed for display, and sold only through licensed dealers with mandatory background checks and written secure-storage guidance. Violating these onerous requirements risks criminal misdemeanor charges and multi-year bans from the gun-show circuit.
Put plainly, HB 25‑1238 erects a bureaucratic wall around small promoters, independent sellers, rural communities, and low-income Coloradans. By needing deep-pocketed insurance and security setups and prohibiting non-FFL vendors, it creates a legalized bias favoring large, corporate-style shows while choking off access for everyone else. This legislation doesn’t advance safety—it weaponizes regulation to erode equal access to firearms in Colorado.