According to Colorado’s state constitution, an individual’s right “to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person and property” shall not “be called in question.”
But now that Colorado has become the first state in the nation to repeal its firearm preemption law, that right is very much in question. Forty-four states have a preemption law — a law that prevents cities and towns from regulating firearms more restrictively than the state as a whole.
With the passage of Senate Bill 21-256, Colorado has become the first state to reverse course after having such a law in place. Colorado abandoned preemption and replaced it with a law whereby “a local government is permitted to enact an ordinance, regulation, or other law governing or prohibiting the sale, purchase, transfer, or possession of a firearm, ammunition, or firearm component or accessory.”
Crucially, “the ordinance, regulation, or law may not be less restrictive than state law.” Localities can make their own choices — but only if those choices are in the direction of more gun control.
The dial only turns one way. But gun-control advocates have worked hard to obscure this fact. Advocates of the repeal framed the new law as one focused on enabling “local control” — a point that would be hard to argue with if it were actually true.
Read the rest of Cody Wisniewski’s Washington Examiner piece by following this link.
