It never fails to amuse me when I see various press outlets describe Colorado Gov. Jared Polis as a “libertarian leaning” Democrat. That might be true when it comes to things like decriminalizing marijuana or scrapping Colorado’s income tax, but when it comes to our right to keep and bear arms Polis has demonstrated he’s willing to go along with the gun control lobby and their allies in Denver. The governor only issued six vetoes last year, and none of them involved guns. Instead, he and the Colorado legislature enshrined several new restrictions into law, including a repeal of campus carry and adding new mandates for those seeking a concealed carry permit. 

Still, the governor says he’s keeping his options open when it comes to a sweeping semi-auto ban introduced at the state capital this year. 

Polis said that while a ban on the manufacture and sale of semiautomatic firearms with a removable ammunition magazine isn’t his preferred method of tackling gun violence, he’s not fundamentally opposed to the idea. 

Still, the Democrat was noncommittal on whether he would sign Senate Bill 3 should it pass this year and make it to his desk. The measure would affect the manufacture and sale of most semiautomatic rifles and shotguns with removable magazines, along with some semiautomatic pistols. 

As introduced, the legislation has enough cosponsors to pass the Senate and it almost surely has enough support to clear the House, too.

“I want to make sure it doesn’t interfere with legal, law-abiding gun owners in our state for hunting, for home defense or sport,” he said. “We’ll certainly bring those values to the table as the discussions continue.” 

Polis said he thinks the state’s focus “should be on guns used in crime,” which is why his priority firearm bill at the Capitol this year targets stolen weapons. 

“I’m not entirely sure why the legislature wants to play around with different gun models,” he said. “Certainly always a red line for me has been don’t affect things that people already have. This proposal obviously clears that.”

Yes, SB 3 currently contains a grandfather clause allowing those Coloradans who currently own a gas-operated semi-automatic firearm that can accept a detachable magazine to keep them once the ban takes effect, but there’s nothing to stop lawmakers from removing that provision in the future, as California Democrats did with the state’s ban on “large capacity” magazines a few years ago. 

As for the governor’s assertion that lawmakers should be focused on guns used in crime, I’d say what they really need to pay attention to are the individuals who are committing these crimes. The thieves who are stealing guns from cars and the violent offenders who are using guns to commit home invasions, car jackings, and armed robberies are the real issue here, not the most commonly-produced rifles and shotguns in the country. 

Still, Polis’ stated priority would at least be aimed generally at those who steal guns and possess stolen firearms, as opposed to the gun ban bill that looks to be on track for passage. So why does Polis say that he’s not fundamentally opposed to the idea of a wide-ranging prohibition on semi-automatic firearms, especially when it most definitely would interefere with legal, law-abiding gun owners?

Polis may very well decide to run for the Democratic presidential nomination four years from now, and I don’t think he’s looking to make an enemy of the gun control lobby so early by vocally opposing their top legislative priority. But I don’t believe Polis wants to run as a cookie-cutter Democrat either, and if there’s enough of an outcry about SB 3 and its restrictions he could very well decide to veto the measure. Would I prefer he do it out of personal conviction instead of political expedience? Sure, but I’d rather have him veto the bill for whatever reason instead of allowing it to become law. 

Colorado gun owners definitely have their work cut out for them, and there’s no time like the present to start contacting the governor’s office and urging him to reject the semi-auto ban known as SB 3. The bill could move swiftly through the legislature, and the gun control lobby will be pulling out all the stops to pressure Polis into doing their bidding once again.