CIVIL RIGHTS UPDATE: Gun ban contortions belie Polis’ ‘Free State of Colorado’ claims.

Senate Bill 3 would enact the first gun ban in Colorado history, making most semiautomatic guns and rifles, except for select hunting rifles, inaccessible to ordinary Coloradans to manufacture, sell or transfer as of Sept. 1.

At the eleventh hour in the Senate, progressive Democrats magnanimously carved out an exemption to appease Gov. Jared Polis and promote his “Free State of Colorado” propaganda. Most people who have lived here 10-plus years would surely argue that Colorado is now far less free – except for the freedom to use drugs, pitch a tent, and defecate in public.

The Polis amendment would allow Coloradans to continue to purchase common handguns and rifles only if these residents navigate a bureaucratic labyrinth which sponsors claim will encourage safety.

Of course, it does nothing to encourage gun safety among those who don’t care about breaking the law.

For starters, a Free State of Colorado citizen who wants to buy a specified firearm must seek the local sheriff’s permission and pay a fee just to be considered worthy. The sheriff can either grant that citizen a “Firearms Safety Eligibility Card” or choose not to do so.

Once this citizen of our free state has the sheriff’s blessing, he or she may then enroll in a government-approved “extended firearms safety course,” including a minimum of 12 hours of instruction over at least two different days. To take this course, a citizen must pay another fee which will be used to maintain a government database of those who have permission to buy a firearm.

That’s a whole lot of infringement.