SB25-003: A Constitutional Overreach Morphed into a Fiscal Disaster

SB25-003, the so-called "Semiautomatic Firearms & Rapid-Fire Devices" bill, has passed its second reading in the Colorado Senate and is now on its way to a third. Along the way, it has been amended multiple times, adding layers of complexity and, critically, a massive price tag that now requires a fiscal note. This is where the bill will collapse under the weight of its own reckless ambition.

The reality is this: SB25-003 is not just unconstitutional - it is fiscally indefensible.

An Unaffordable Power Grab

This bill is a sweeping attempt to criminalize law-abiding gun owners under the false pretense of public safety, but in doing so, it creates an entirely new law enforcement agency under the Department of Revenue - one that the state simply cannot afford to implement or sustain.

Let’s look at the numbers:

• The Department of Natural Resources will need $550,000 in FY 2025-26 and another $275,000 annually after that.
• The Department of Public Safety will require $1.8 million per year in new expenditures to conduct additional background checks and hire nearly a dozen new government employees.

All told, millions of dollars in taxpayer money will be siphoned away from essential services - money that we do not have.

Democrats’ Budget Disaster: No Room for New Spending

The same Democrat-controlled legislature that is pushing this bill is also responsible for a massive budget deficit. After a year of runaway spending, Colorado is now staring down a $1 billion shortfall. The state is being forced to cut funding for education, healthcare, and infrastructure - services that millions of Coloradans depend on.

And yet, in the face of these crises, they expect taxpayers to fund a new regulatory agency that would police gun owners?

This is not governance. This is fiscal malpractice.

SB25-003 Must Die in the Appropriations Committee

The reality is simple: no bill with a fiscal note should pass this session. The budget crisis is too severe, and prioritizing an expensive, heavy-handed gun control measure over schools, hospitals, and roads is not just irresponsible - it is offensive.

That is why the strategy is clear: we must kill this bill in the House Appropriations Committee. If Democrats are serious about addressing their own budget mess, they must admit that SB25-003 is a financial impossibility. If they refuse to recognize that, then they will have to explain to voters why they are choosing to fund a new gun control bureaucracy while cutting education, healthcare, and law enforcement.

A Constitutional Travesty

Let’s be clear - this bill is not just about money. It is an unconstitutional assault on law-abiding gun owners that bans commonly owned firearms and turns responsible citizens into criminals. The Second Amendment is not up for debate, and yet Democrats in the legislature are forcing Coloradans to fight for rights that should never have been threatened in the first place.

The worst part?

Even if this bill were funded, it would not stop crime. Criminals, by definition, do not obey the law. The only people who will suffer under SB25-003 are law-abiding citizens who exercise their constitutional rights responsibly.

The Fight Is Not Over

SB25-003 is on the march, but so are we. The fight moves to the House, and this is where it must end.

I urge every Coloradan - Democrat, Republican, and Independent alike - to speak out against this fiscally reckless, unconstitutional power grab. Contact your legislators. Demand that they prioritize funding for education, healthcare, and infrastructure - not a new bureaucracy designed to strip you of your rights.

We will not stand by while our freedoms are attacked, while our schools and hospitals are gutted, and while politicians play games with our hard-earned tax dollars.

SB25-003 must be stopped. And in the House Appropriations Committee, that is exactly what we will do.