A controversial gun control bill, SB 25-003, has passed the Colorado General Assembly and is expected to be signed into law by Governor Jared Polis. The bill, which initially banned the sale of most semi-automatic rifles, was amended to require a firearms safety course eligibility card and qualifying education course for purchases. Opponents argue the legislation infringes on gun rights and question its constitutionality.

As The Center Square reports:

A controversial gun control bill has cleared the Colorado General Assembly and now heads to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.

Senate Bill 25-003, when introduced, initially outright banned the sale or purchase of most semi-automatic rifles or shotguns that take detachable magazines and exempted firearms with “permanently fixed” magazines.

The bill was later amended to allow purchases if an individual secures a “firearms safety course eligibility card” from their local sheriff department and then completes a qualifying firearm education course.

SB 25-003 passed a concurrent vote of 19-15-1 in the upper chamber on Friday after the House passed it with amendments earlier this week.

The bill’s Democratic sponsors argue the legislation is necessary to enforce the state’s 2013 ban on magazines that hold more than 15 rounds. Opponents argue that the legislation amounts to a firearm owner identification card and question its constitutionality.

“We passed legislation – in this building, in this General Assembly in 2013 – that limited the sale and possession of high-capacity magazines over 15 [rounds],” said bill sponsor Sen. Tom Sullivan, whose son was killed in the 2012 Aurora theater shooting.

“In the 10-12 years since, it has been woefully inadequate [and] they were not enforcing it. We knew they were not enforcing it,” said Sullivan, D-Centennial.

Sullivan noted the Boulder King Soopers shooting in 2021 and the Club Q shooting in 2022 as examples where the gunmen used illegal high-capacity magazines.

“If we allow the government to redefine rights as privileges, which I argue this bill does, then we place our freedoms at the mercy of those in power,” Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen said Friday leading up to the vote.

“Rights, once treated as privileges, can be restricted, taxed, licensed and ultimately, if they can do all of that to them, they can take those rights away,” the Republican legislator said.

Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, is expected to sign SB 25-003 into law.

Other gun bills have advanced through the legislature recently, such as a bill to raise the age for ammunition purchases from 18 to 21 and a bill to require gun show operators to have liability insurance.

Democrats failed to pass outright bans on so-called assault weapons during the last two legislative sessions.

Ohio Senate Bill 1, a sweeping reform of the state’s higher education system, has passed both the Republican-controlled Senate and House and is anticipated to be signed into law by Governor DeWine. The bill bans diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, limits faculty teaching, and puts an end to faculty strikes at public universities and community colleges.

Democrats criticize the bill, claiming it suppresses free speech and erodes academic freedom, while supporters argue it will enhance higher education and safeguard students’ rights.

The Center Square reports:

Thousands of opponents, protesters and Democrats likely won’t have much luck pushing Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine to veto a bill that overhauls higher education in the state.

DeWine has already said he will likely sign the bill that prohibits diversity, equity and inclusion, along with expressing political views, restricts how faculty teaches and ends faculty strikes at the state’s 37 public universities and community colleges.

Senate Bill 1 passed the Republican-majority Senate and House of Representatives along party-line votes and cleared the Senate again Wednesday on another party-line concurrence vote.

“SB1 will enrich the learning experience of students at our public universities and colleges, places where our best and brightest will be able to learn without prejudice, speak their mind without being canceled, be honest about their positions without fear of faculty retaliation and consider all sides of an issue and make up their own minds,” said Kristina Roegner, R-Hudson, chairwoman of the Senate Higher Education Committee.

In a letter to DeWine urging a veto, Democrats said the legislation stifles free speech, pushes Republican beliefs and is detrimental to higher education throughout the state.

“This legislation is a misguided attempt by overreaching legislators to impose their ideological beliefs on our public universities,” the letter reads. “The bill undermines academic freedom, attacks collective bargaining rights, and jeopardizes the future of higher education in our state.”

During hearings in the Senate and House, committees received more than 1,700 testimony submissions opposing the bill, while less than 50 supported it. Through the process, thousands of Ohio college students protested at the statehouse.

“This is the worst piece of legislation I have ever voted on since I became a senator three years ago,” said Sen. Bill DeMora, D-Columbus. “There is nothing positive in this bill. It’s going to ruin higher education.”

Greg Lawson, research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, was one of the supporters, saying SB1 is a win for students.

“Ohio took a major step toward improving higher education in Ohio with the adoption of the policies in Ohio Senate Bill 1, and Senator Jerry Cirino deserves a round of applause for his tireless efforts and leadership on these critical reforms,” Lawson said. “If enacted, the reforms in Senate Bill 1 will better position Ohio’s public universities to teach students and equip them for success after graduation.”

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