Mesa County Commissioners appeal to governor’s libertarian streak to try to halt Colorado gun bill

County Commissioners in Western Colorado are asking Gov. Jared Polis to veto an expansive new gun bill awaiting his signature. 

“We urge you, Governor Polis, to veto this bill,” Mesa County Commissioner Cody Davis said during a meeting Tuesday. “You've claimed to be a libertarian and you respect the rights and Constitutional rights of Coloradans. Prove it today.”

Reason magazine once said Polis “might be the most libertarian governor in America”, though some state Libertarians have pushed back against that. 

The Mesa County Commission is not alone in its stance against SB25-003, which includes provisions that would require people to go through in-person training and get a permit in order to buy most guns with detachable magazines. Montrose County Commissioners recently affirmed their resolution declaring Montrose County a “Second Amendment Sanctuary,” and multiple sheriffs have spoken out against the proposal. All four of Colorado’s Republican members of Congress have also written to Polis, urging him to veto it.

If signed by the Governor, the measure would expand restrictions on many semi-automatic firearms, including models used in recent mass shootings. Sen. Tom Sullivan is the lead sponsor of the bill. His son was killed in the Aurora movie theater shooting more than a decade ago. Sullivan has cast this year’s bill as a way to enforce Colorado’s limits on high-capacity magazines.

Polis initially seemed opposed to the bill, telling the Colorado Sun he was concerned it would interfere with law-abiding gun owners. However, after lawmakers watered down the proposal, the governor’s office has indicated he’s more open to signing it.

More than a dozen residents addressed the Mesa County Commissioners ahead of their vote on the resolution, which passed unanimously, saying they felt the legislation was a hindrance to Colorado gun owners and would likely be tossed by the U.S. Supreme Court. 

No Mesa County resident on Tuesday spoke in support of the state legislation, though the measure has support among gun safety groups who point to Colorado’s robust history of mass shootings as cause for tighter firearm restrictions. 

The Second Amendment advocacy group Rocky Mountain Gun Owners is also urging Polis to veto the bill. Mesa County Commissioner Bobbie Daniel said Senate Bill 3 “cuts at the heart of what makes Colorado great and America free.” 

“It proposes that if government can take away a little liberty from everyone, somehow it will make everyone safer. History tells us otherwise. Every time rights have been stripped from individuals in the name of greater good, the end results has not been peace,” Daniel said. 

Polis has until Monday to sign or veto the bill. If he doesn’t act before then, it will become law without his signature.