Colorado Sheriff Says He Won’t Participate in State’s New Permit-to-Purchase Scheme

As of August 1, it’s a lot harder to purchase an AR-15 in Colorado than it used to be. Prospective buyers have to obtain a Firearms Safety Course Eligibility Card from a county sheriff and undergo a four- or 12-hour training class (depending on whether or not they’ve taken a hunter education course in the past five years) before they can purchase some of the most popular firearms around. 

Under the law, sheriffs can charge whatever they’d like for processing the eligibility card applications. Some sheriffs, like El Paso County Sheriff Jospeh Roybal, have said they won’t charge gun owners a penny for the processing. At least one sheriff, though, says he won’t be processing any applications at all. 

Sheriff Steven Nowlin, a Republican, cited financial and staffing capacity concerns for the decision, as well as a constitutional consideration.

“As a Colorado Sheriff, and every member of the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office, each of us have sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Colorado, and perform the duties of the Office of Sheriff in Colorado by protecting those rights for all citizens in Montezuma County,” he said in a statement.

Nowlin also objects to the hunter education training requirement, noting that it “has never been a requirement by federal or state laws to purchase a firearm or obtain a concealed handgun permit,” and that the new law has nothing to do with either hunting or trapping. 

I appreciate and agree with the sheriff’s belief that this new law is unconstitutional. But by opting out of issuing the eligibility certificates he’s making it even more difficult for Montezuma County residents to exercise their rights. Two of the three neighboring counties don’t have any information about the cost of obtaining an eligibility card, but La Plata County is charging non-residents $150 to apply, which includes the mandatory $52 fee paid to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. 

Roybal isn’t the only sheriff in the state who’s opposed to the new law. At the moment, though, it looks like he’s the only one opting out of participating. 

The Weld County Sheriff’s Office said it is taking part in the mandated process despite staunch opposition from Sheriff Steve Reams. A spokesperson for the office said they do not have concerns about funding or staffing, though they are monitoring the situation.

Elbert County Undersheriff Dave Fisher called the law an “unfunded mandate” and “likely unconstitutional,” but said the office has established a process for residents who want to purchase listed firearms. The undersheriff added that requiring a 12-hour, two-day hunter safety course for non-hunting firearm owners “makes no sense.” He said the office has three part time employees working to process applications.

I don’t believe for a second that Sheriff Roybal is intentionally trying to screw over Montezuma County residents. I think his objections are sincere. I also think, though, that the best way for him to serve his constituents is to process their eligibility card applications without imposing any additional fees and to continue to speak out as loudly and frequently as possible about the unconstitutional nature of the state’s new permit-to-purchase scheme. 

His current stance, as principled as it may be, is playing right into the hands of gun control activists like Sen. Tom Sullivan, who has made it clear that he wants the new law to serve as a ban on so-called assault weapons. The gun control lobby loves anything that will make it more difficult for Coloradans to purchase these arms, and that includes sheriffs opting out of participating in the permit-to-purchase scheme. 

Editor’s Note: The radical Left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.

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