Colorado’s 72-Hour Gun Purchase Waiting Period Is Subject of New Lawsuit

Gun rights groups claim a waiting period not in line with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bruen and would endanger, rather than protect people.

Guns are displayed for sale at Dragonman's shooting range and gun store east of Colorado Springs, Colo., on July 20, 2014. Brennan Linsley/AP Photo

The Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF) is suing Colorado Gov. Jared Polis over a law mandating a 72-hour waiting period for gun transfers.

The law is meant to prevent suicides, shootings in domestic violence situations, and other criminal acts.

Plaintiffs in the legal action say the law is more likely to endanger people while killing most gun shows and private gun sales.

On October 1, 2023, HB 23-1219 became effective in Colorado. The law requires a 72-hour waiting period before the seller of a firearm can transfer that firearm to the buyer.

Under the law, the waiting period is the last action before a sale is complete, and it applies to private sales and transactions handled by federal firearms licensees.

There are exceptions for antique and relic firearms, members of the military, and transfers among family members.

Mr. Polis’s office did not respond to an email seeking comment. But in a statement released on April 28, when Mr. Polis signed a package of gun bills, he wrote that the law would save lives.

“Today we are taking some important steps to help make Colorado one of the ten safest states . . . Last year, I was proud to sign a comprehensive public safety plan of action into law to put Colorado on track to becoming one of the ten safest states in the nation,” Mr. Polis wrote.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis speaks at a news conference in Boulder, Colo., on Dec. 31, 2021. Nathan Frandino/Reuters

MSLF represents Alicia Garcia, a Colorado-based social media influencer and firearms instructor, and the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, a Second Amendment advocacy group.

An MSLF lawyer, Sean Nation, said the waiting period is unconstitutional under the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen. Mr. Nation said the law would be ineffective and perhaps even counter-productive.

Mr. Nation said that people determined to harm themselves or others will not be deterred by a law, regardless of its intent.

“Waiting periods are pretty ineffective,” he told The Epoch Times.

On the other hand, he said a person who needs a gun for protection would be put at risk.

“A right delayed is a right denied. This does have real public safety issues,” Mr. Nation said.

Mr. Nation said that under the Bruen decision, the law is unconstitutional since there was no similar law in 1791 when the Second Amendment was ratified.

Must Consider Historical Context

In Bruen, the Supreme Court ruled that the courts must consider the historical context when the Second Amendment was written. The court ruled that if there was no similar law at the time of the amendment’s ratification, then the law is not in line with the founder’s intent.

In a statement posted on the MSLF website, Ms. Garcia wrote that she has friends whom this law will endanger as they hide from abusers.

“Asking someone to wait three days for self-defense is to put them at risk for harm,” she wrote. “The politicians say this is about people’s safety—this law is a danger to the most vulnerable.”

A statement on the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners website claims the law is ultimately meant to kill gun shows and private gun sales.

According to the statement, placing a waiting period at the end of a firearms transaction extends the time it will take for a person to buy a gun. The group contends that the waiting period could expand the time frame for sale from a few days to 12 days or more.

Could Snuff Out Gun Shows

“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,” Taylor D. Rhodes, executive director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, wrote in the statement.

Brian Abbas, executive director of MSLF’s Center to Keep and Bear Arms, agrees.

“They have an agenda to outlaw guns as much as possible, and they are going to about it meticulously and keep trying to chip away at gun rights,” he wrote in the MSLF statement.

Mr. Nation said a U.S. District Court judge will hear an MSLF motion for a preliminary injunction to block enforcement of the law on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023.