The Senate on March 28 concurred with House amendments and repassed Senate Bill 3, a high-profile measure that restricts the manufacture, sale and transfer of specified semiautomatic firearms and establishes a permit-to-purchase and firearm-safety course framework administered through Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW).

Sponsor Senator (name on the floor) explained the package includes multiple changes agreed in the House, including exemptions for accredited gunsmithing instruction (L43); a process for remittance and temporary funding using CPW cash funds (L48, L52, L55); application requirements for an eligibility card (L49); sheriff review and denial authority for eligibility cards (L50); and a reporting requirement to the Judiciary committees (L119). The House also added tribal law enforcement to the list of exempt agencies (L64).

Nut graf: The bill creates a new permit-to-purchase mechanism for certain specified semiautomatic firearms, ties a training-and-safety-fee to a CPW-administered cash fund, and includes enforcement and immunity provisions for local sheriffs. Supporters said the package seeks to reduce access to high-capacity magazines and specified configurations implicated in mass shootings. Opponents called the measure an infringement on Second Amendment rights and warned of regulatory complexity and fiscal risk for CPW.

Floor debate was heated and lengthy. Senator Sullivan recounted the Aurora theater massacre and framed the bill as a public‑safety response. “That was where this all started ... a guy ran in with a 100‑round drum,” Sullivan said. Opponents, including Senators Pelton, Liston and others, argued the bill would criminalize lawful owners, create a black market for weapons, and impose burdens on law‑abiding citizens who hunt or keep firearms for self‑defense.

Key procedural actions adopted on the floor included a suite of House amendments (L43, L48, L49, L50, L52, L54, L55, L56, L61, L62, L64, L65, L67, L108 and L119), which the Senate accepted by concurrence. After concordance, the Senate repassed the bill.

Vote: The Senate first concurred in the House amendments by a recorded vote (20 ayes, 14 noes). The final repassage of the bill on the floor recorded 19 ayes and 15 noes.

The bill now moves forward with the House amendments included; supporters said the package balances public‑safety goals with exemptions for law‑enforcement and educational uses, while opponents signaled legal challenges were likely.