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The Colorado Bureau of Investigation set a new record last month, receiving 59,452 background check requests—nearly triple the number of applications compared with the same period last July, when it processed 20,172 gun background checks.
The Bureau, which expected the rush, said it was in anticipation of Senate Bill 3, passed in 2025 and which became law Aug. 1. This law requires people seeking to purchase many semiautomatic firearms with detachable magazines, including AR-15-type weapons, to pass an enhanced background check and complete a safety course before being allowed to buy the weapon. The course was developed by the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife.
“This curriculum was developed by CPW and 11 volunteer verified firearms instructors from across the state with over 150 collective years of experience in firearms safety training,” CPW spokesperson Travis Duncan told Colorado Public Radio. “Courses will instruct students on general gun safety, which applies to all situations where a firearm is being handled, child safety and safe storage of firearms, basic handling of firearms, including specified semiautomatic firearms and ammunition magazines, firearm deaths associated with mental illness, extreme risk protection orders, and victim awareness and empathy along with other firearms safety-related topics.”
CBI Director Armando Saldate told CPR his hope for July was to ensure that all firearms background checks be processed within the state-mandated 72-hour waiting period. Saldate said CBI was able to meet that goal by shuffling staff to double the size of its background check unit and letting staff work from home and work overtime hours.
Even after such a rush of purchases in advance of the new law, it’s worth remembering that far fewer of these weapons are likely to be sold going forward. And we are always in favor of more safety education, not less, when it comes to gun ownership.