HB26-1021, titled the "Second Amendment Protection Act," would substantially roll back Colorado firearms regulation by repealing a broad set of existing statutes and related programs. The bill eliminates or narrows laws covering firearm possession in polling places and certain government buildings, concealed carry restrictions, child care and school restrictions, storage requirements, waiting periods, minimum purchase age, private-transfer background checks, ammunition magazine limits, gun show rules, payment-processing restrictions for firearm sales, local firearm ordinances, and several enforcement and reporting provisions. It also repeals the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, the firearms training and safety course cash fund, and the voluntary waiver of the right to purchase a firearm program, while directing the state treasurer to return certain fees, grants, and donations tied to those repealed programs.
The bill also rewrites Colorado law to limit civil liability and criminal enforcement related to firearms. It recreates firearms and ammunition product-liability provisions that would confine lawsuits to actual design or manufacturing defects or statutory/regulatory violations, bar certain third-party liability theories, require dismissal of prohibited claims, and award attorney fees to defendants on dismissal. It further restores preexisting product-liability standards and repeals newer provisions that expanded liability or enforcement related to firearms industry conduct, unserialized firearms, semiautomatic firearms, and merchant code requirements. Several sections also adjust juvenile detention, protection-order, and criminal-history provisions to remove references to repealed firearm offenses or to align them with the bill's broader rollback of gun restrictions.
If enacted, the bill would significantly change state firearms law by preempting many local gun regulations, reducing state-level restrictions on carrying, purchasing, transferring, and storing firearms, and limiting the ability of state agencies and courts to use firearms-related prohibitions as grounds for enforcement or liability. It would also repeal or revise numerous cross-references throughout the Colorado Revised Statutes, affecting law enforcement, courts, firearm dealers, local governments, schools, child care centers, election officials, and individuals subject to protection orders or juvenile proceedings. The bill includes transition provisions for returning money from repealed funds and programs and sets a delayed repeal date for that refund mechanism.
The overall sentiment reflected in the bill text is strongly pro-gun and anti-regulation, with the legislative declaration asserting that recent Colorado gun laws are unconstitutional and harmful to law-abiding citizens. There were no committee transcripts or recorded votes provided, but the bill's last recorded action was a House Judiciary Committee postponement indefinitely, which indicates the measure did not advance out of committee. That procedural outcome suggests the bill faced significant resistance, consistent with the sweeping nature of its proposed repeals.
The main points of contention are the bill's broad repeal of existing gun-safety laws and its sharp limitation on state and local authority. Supporters would likely view the bill as restoring Second Amendment rights, uniform statewide rules, and protection for firearm owners and businesses. Opponents would likely object that it would weaken public-safety measures, reduce local control, eliminate background-check and storage requirements, and curtail enforcement tools related to schools, polling places, domestic violence, and gun violence prevention. The bill also appears likely to draw criticism for its expansive preemption of local ordinances and its rollback of newer firearm liability and industry-regulation provisions.
The bill would repeal or amend a large number of Colorado statutes in titles 1, 13, 16, 18, 19, 24, 25, 29, 33, and 39, effectively dismantling many current firearm restrictions and related enforcement mechanisms. It would remove or narrow state prohibitions on concealed carry in specified places, waiting periods, age limits, private-transfer background checks, storage rules, magazine restrictions, unserialized firearms, semiautomatic firearm regulations, dealer permitting, gun-show rules, and local firearm ordinances, while also repealing the Office of Gun Violence Prevention and associated funding mechanisms. In addition, it would restore a narrower firearms product-liability framework, alter protection-order relinquishment procedures, and revise juvenile and criminal-enforcement statutes to conform to the repeals.
The bill is framed in highly supportive terms for gun rights and in strongly critical terms toward existing firearm regulations, indicating a clear pro-Second Amendment posture. No committee testimony or vote tally is provided, but the bill was postponed indefinitely in House Judiciary, which suggests the proposal did not have sufficient support to advance. The available context therefore points to a polarized measure with strong ideological support from sponsors and likely substantial opposition from those favoring current gun-safety laws.
The central contention is whether Colorado should preserve its current firearm regulations or broadly repeal them in favor of statewide uniformity and fewer restrictions. Supporters would likely argue that the bill protects constitutional rights, reduces inconsistent local rules, and limits liability theories they view as unfair to firearm manufacturers and dealers. Opponents would likely argue that the bill would weaken public safety by eliminating background checks, storage requirements, carry restrictions in sensitive places, and local control, while also reducing tools for addressing gun violence, domestic violence, and illegal firearm trafficking. The bill's repeal of gun-violence-prevention infrastructure and its rollback of recent industry and liability reforms are likely to be especially controversial.