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To: RMGO Board Members, RMGO Members, Colorado Gun Show Operators
From: Taylor D. Rhodes – Executive Director, Rocky Mountain Gun Owners
Date: Tuesday, June 6, 2023
Subject: Minimum Waiting Periods Will Derail Gun Shows and Private Sales
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Colorado gun shows are not second-class businesses, and the Second Amendment is not a second-class right.
Gun shows and private sellers face the reality that HB23-1219, “Three-Day-Minimum Waiting Period To Deliver a Firearm,” is not about reducing gun deaths, suicide rates, or even violent crimes. Simply, HB23-1219 snuffs out gun shows and private sellers to cut off one of the most commonly used gun-purchasing avenues by Coloradans today.
As the bill is written, Colorado municipalities can enact waiting periods longer than three days for all gun purchases. Additionally, because the bill calls for a “minimum” of a three-day waiting period, this opens the door for weaponizing CBI (as we have seen the ATF do with arbitrary weapons rules – i.e., ATF Pistol Brace Rule). Current and prospective Colorado gun owners could see 30, 180, 365 day waiting periods depending on the desires and whims of local municipalities and CBI.
What does this mean for gun owners across the State of Colorado? What does this mean for Colorado Gun Shows? How will this affect private sales in Colorado?
In theory, gun shows and private sales could still happen under the new law, but we will likely see them go the way most online retailers conduct business. Here is how we expect the law to play out:
The purchase is made at the time of the gun show or the private party sale; the firearm is then transferred (shipped) to a Colorado FFL; once the firearm is received and entered into the log, the buyer will be called to the FFL to start the background check process, once the buyer completes the process he/she will then be placed in the queue for at least the legally required three days, but as mentioned at the beginning of this notice, this wait may drag out far longer than the legally required three-day minimum. Once the background check is cleared after the delayed waiting period, the buyer would return to the FFL to pick up the weapon purchased at the gun show or private sale.
Our estimate is it would take at least 12 days for a weapon purchased at a gun show to be legally possessed by the buyer.
As we know, gun shows trigger spur-the-moment purchases and attract large audiences looking for a bargain or something unique for their firearm collection. This bill clearly aims to choke out gun shows and private party sales by artificially increasing gun prices, dragging out the time to obtain the weapon, and making the gun-buying process a headache for all involved.
Ultimately, this move pushes buyers away from gun shows to online dealers, consignments, and traditional FFLs. This approach will lead to gun shows being one less avenue to purchase a firearm and one less entity pushing back against anti-Second Amendment movements.
Upon passage, Rocky Mountain Gun Owners and our key stakeholders quickly recognized the bill sponsors’ intentions with this new law and promptly jumped into action. As the bill is written, mandatory minimum waiting periods will start on October 1st; however, before the ink was dry on the paper, RMGO and our legal team filed a seven-page lawsuit attacking the law’s constitutionality.
Based on last summer’s SCOTUS decision (Bruen), we believe we have the high ground in the courts. Still, it will take all of us to come together to secure this monumental victory, as our accounting and legal departments are projecting each legal challenge to cost upwards of $1,000,000.
We ask all RMGO Board Members, RMGO Members, and Colorado Gun Show Operators to financially support this case, hoping we will throw out this unconstitutional gun control scheme.
You can contribute to the RMGO Legal Fund at RMGO.org or by check payable to Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, mailed to P.O. BOX 357 | Loveland, Co 80539.
Additional questions regarding HB23-1219 may be directed to activism@rmgohq.org.
Submitted Tuesday, June 6, 2023, at 04:37 PM MDT by Taylor D. Rhodes.
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Signature of Submitter
