Colorado’s governor is enacting a restrictive gun law next week that will prohibit anyone under 21 years old from purchasing a gun, rendering them unable to protect themselves.

(Video Credit: Denver7)

Set to go into effect on Monday, SB23-169 is one of four anti-gun bills signed by Governor Jared Polis. The state legislature approved them and the governor signed the bills in the spring, according to Fox News. The only exception to the new law would be active members of the US armed forces, peace officers, and people certified by the Peace Officer Standards and Training Board.

Local gun shops, gun rights advocates, and shooting ranges are all very concerned that young people have been stripped of the means to protect themselves in the state. Polis has also made it possible for families to sue gun manufacturers if a loved one dies by gun violence, which many contend makes no sense. The bills all smack of unconstitutionality and will most likely make their way to the Supreme Court for adjudication.

“People under the age of 21 are no longer going to have the right to defend themselves with firearms,” DCF Guns store manager Kevin Day told Fox 21 in an interview. “The best thing we can do is continue to educate the public.”

The Rocky Mountain Gun Owners are joining other gun groups that are filing lawsuits against Polis and the State of Colorado in an attempt to strike down the new law. The organization has filed a Temporary Restraining Order to try and prevent the law from going into effect, arguing that it is unconstitutional.

Colorado gun law raising age to purchase gun to 21 set to take effect Monday https://t.co/5l0ixKqY2r

— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 5, 2023

The group contends that if you can vote when you are 18, you should be able to own a gun.

“You can be drafted into the military. You can go and die for your country, but you can’t own a gun. That’s just wrong,” Rocky Mountain Gun Owners Executive Director Taylor Rhodes pointed out to Fox 21.

“I think it’s unconstitutional,” Paul Paradis, the owner of Paradise Sales on the west side of Colorado Springs, stated according to KOAA. “That’s what’s happening to our constitutional rights. They’re just slowly eroding from different entities in our society.”

But you can still buy a car or get married at 18….right?

— Apheleia (@Apheleia9) August 5, 2023

Paradis has owned Paradise Sales for more than 40 years and said up to 20% of his business comes from 18 to 20-year-olds. When asked if he believes the law will hurt his business, he replied, “Of course, it’s going to hurt.”

“We’re going to have to wait and see what the court is going to say on the constitutionality of this, and I really believe that this Court is going to find it unconstitutional,” Paradis commented.

The erosion of rights always starts with:
-a small seemingly reasonable step
-justified because it will protect people
Neither is true. A small step off a cliff is still deadly. And disarming people makes them vulnerable to bad actors.

Hope the courts see the same.

— JWShears (@JwShears) August 5, 2023

Anti-gun proponents are claiming that the law is intended to protect young people, not to criminalize responsible gun owners.

“This isn’t trying to infringe on anybody’s rights … What it comes down to is saving lives, we know that youth suicide has increased,” Majority House Leader Monica Duran (D) told the media outlet, parroting the same talking point the left always uses when infringing gun rights. “We know domestic violence has increased.”

If a 5 year old can decide what gender they want to be why should they have to wait till 21 to protect themselves?

— Del (@Del63694251Del) August 5, 2023

Duran predictably asserted that limiting access to guns is a way to improve public safety.

“The easier it is to access something, the more likelihood that it can be used in a way that could be detrimental to not just our youth but our community,” she ridiculously and hypocritically stated, unintentionally referring to just about anything that can be accessed.

Purchasing a firearm under 21 years of age is a class two misdemeanor under the new law. Anyone who sells a firearm to someone younger than 21 could be charged with a class one misdemeanor. Federal law already prohibits people under 21 from buying handguns which also could be contested due to its unconstitutionality.

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