Colorado has turned the exercise of a Constitutional right into a bureaucratic maze.
And we’re asking the courts to stop it.
On August 1, 2026, Colorado’s new permit-to-purchase law took effect. Now, law-abiding Coloradans who want to purchase certain semiautomatic firearms must navigate a lengthy and confusing process of government approvals, background checks, mandatory training, testing, and fees. But it’s not a simple process. It’s a 12-step maze, and the barriers are already having an impact.
Some counties have no available trainer. Applicants can be left trying to figure out which vendors they can use, where they need to go, and how long the process will take. The costs can climb into the hundreds of dollars—sometimes more than the price of an entry-level rifle.
One firearm dealer told us that, after the law took effect, 9 out of 10 customers who were asked said they would choose not to purchase a covered firearm rather than go through the state’s requirements.
Think about that for a moment.
Imagine if 9 out of 10 people decided not to vote because of government-imposed barriers. Or 9 out of 10 people decided not to speak because the government made the process too difficult.
We would recognize that as a serious Constitutional problem.
The Second Amendment deserves the same protection.
That’s why Mountain States Legal Foundation and its Center to Keep and Bear Arms has filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in Del Toro v. Polis, asking the federal court to halt enforcement of Colorado’s permit-to-purchase requirements while our challenge moves forward.
The Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms. As the Tenth Circuit has recognized, that protection necessarily includes the right to acquire firearms.
A Constitutional right should not depend on whether someone can afford hundreds of dollars in fees, find a government-approved trainer, pass a test, navigate layers of bureaucracy, and satisfy an ever-growing list of requirements.
Rights are not privileges the government gets to make harder to exercise.
We’re standing with Colorado gun owners and asking the court to restore the status quo.
Because when government builds a maze around a Constitutional right, someone has to stand up and tear down the walls.
