By: José Niño
As of August 7, 2023, individuals below the age of 21 will no longer be able to purchase any guns in Colorado. Under federal law, individuals under 21 are barred from purchasing handguns.
However, this newly enacted law restricts the purchase of all firearms in the Rocky Mountain State to all residents 21 and up.
Under this law, if an individual under 21 years old purchases a gun, they will be punished by up to one year in jail and be subjected to a $1,000 fine. Any individual who sells or transfers a firearm to anyone under 21 could face a punishment of up to 18 months in jail or a $5,000 fine.
Indeed, the law has carved out exceptions for who can purchase firearms. Namely, three groups who are not subject to its stipulations. The first two are active-military and peace officers. Individuals who receive certification from the Peace Officer Standards and Training boards will also be allowed to purchase firearms.
Back in April, pro-gun organization Rocky Mountain Gun Owners filed a lawsuit against Gov. Jared Polis and the State of Colorado over this new law on the grounds that it’s an unconstitutional measure.
“The idea that an 18-year-old can vote, serve on a jury that could send someone to jail for life, sign contracts, own property, and even be drafted into our nation’s military, but not be able to possess a basic hunting rifle is asinine. Regardless of age, sex, race, religion, or creed, rights are rights and can’t be cherry-picked by bigoted politicians,” Dudley Brown, president of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, declared in a press release at the time.
Gun politics in Colorado has gone in an anti-gun direction in the last decade. Democrats have grown more radical in their anti-gun activism since Colorado passed a magazine ban and universal background checks in 2013. In 2019, Colorado became the 15th state at the time to pass red flag gun confiscation orders. The anti-gunners are continuing to gain ground in the Rocky Mountain State.
With the recent enactment of minimum age requirements for firearms purchases, Colorado will continue its downward spiral into anti-gun madness. It’s currently ranked in a horrible 40th place per Guns & Ammo magazine’s Best States for Gun Owners rankings. Should Colorado continue passing anti-gun legislation, it will soon join the likes of California and New York as anti-gun bastions.
An awful distinction if there ever was one.
José Niño is a freelance writer based in Austin, Texas. Contact him via Facebook, Twitter, or email him at [email protected]. Get his e-book, The 10 Myths of Gun Control, here. Subscribe to his Substack newsletter here.