DENVER – A major gun licensing law enacted by the Colorado legislature during the 2025 session is leaving some Colorado sheriffs with a bit of heartburn.
Although Senate Bill 25-003 won’t take effect until Aug. 1, 2026, the sweeping changes to how Colorado residents can purchase certain firearms puts the onus on local sheriffs to enforce, but no help with funding of the new state mandates.
Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams said all this bill has done is put him in a situation where his constituents think he is helping Democrats enforce a violation of their Second Amendment rights.
“They ask me all the time why I just don’t refuse to enforce it,” said Reams, who has previously refused to enforce gun laws enacted during his time as sheriff of what is the most conservative-leaning county of over 100,000 in population in the state.
It’s not that easy
Not enforcing it, he said, makes it harder on his constituents, not easier.
“If I ignore this and don’t issue these permits, I’m creating a bigger barrier for them to exercise their constitutional right to buy a gun,” Reams said. “I’m just trying to get out of the way. It is unconstitutional. But until someone sues, I can at least not be a roadblock. Sheriffs are squarely in the middle of a gun conflict that we didn’t ask to be in.”
Reams was referring to the steps added to purchase semi-automatic guns that accept detachable magazines, which amounts to a huge number of commonly owned handguns and rifles.
Hopeful buyers must first get fingerprinted to prove eligibility to own a gun, then taking that proof to the local sheriff, who then gives them a card that approves them to take a special class by a certified instructor (the details of which are not yet in place). Once the applicant passes that test, they will be put into a statewide database for five years, which gun dealers will then need to access to confirm the person is legally able to purchase the firearm.
However, the added workload and costs to sheriff’s offices across the state are what are of concern for many – but not all – sheriffs. Reams said at this point he’s planning to request two more full time employees to manage the increase. But those numbers are not guaranteed. He said it could be more.
“Weld County has 27,000 concealed-carry permit holders,” Reams said. “That keeps my front office staff busy enough as it is. My guess is there will be four to five times as many people who will want to exercise their right to take that class to go buy a gun.”
He added he will also have to move things around the office and do some capital construction for new space to accommodate the new employees.
“There is going to be a cost increase to do business,” Reams said, while making it clear Weld County will not charge its residents for the new services other than the fees the state may require. “I don’t want to be a barrier for someone to go buy a gun.”
Sheriffs on the Western Slope who spoke to Sky-Hi News agreed with Reams.
Summit County Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons said SB 3 imposes “unfunded mandates that require significant time, personnel and financial resources to implement.”
Moffat County Sheriff Chip McIntyre described his office as one with “a lean staff and a budget focused on core public safety services, including patrol, detention and emergency response.”
Gatekeeping gun rights
Although a majority of sheriffs have come out against the new law, Reams said he has no doubt there are some who welcome the new state mandates, and the authority over gun owners that comes along with them.
“I see certain sheriffs enjoying being the gatekeeper on this,” he said.
Jefferson County Sheriff Reggie Marinelli, for example, was seemingly indifferent on the law, responding to Complete Colorado through her public relations staff.
“We have seen some increases in the workload, but not substantial,” said Mark Techmeyer, director of public affairs for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. “We are monitoring it, and if it becomes necessary to add personnel to meet the demand, we will act accordingly.”
According to Colorado Demographics, Jefferson County is the fourth largest county by population in Colorado with over 578,000 residents, some 200,000 more than Weld.
Marinelli also does not believe it will delay the process – at least not from her end.
“The person requesting the permit must now undergo training, which will slow the overall process for them,” Techmeyer said.
Marinelli’s ambivalence is not surprising, as her campaign was heavily supported by Mom’s Demand Action, a subgroup of Everytown for Gun Safety, an extreme gun control group which has played a major role in the state–as well as certain municipalities, increasing gun rights restrictions since Democrats became the majority under the gold dome.
“We feel confident in our ability to meet the new responsibilities associated with the law,” Techmeyer said.
Stuck in the middle
Reams said although sheriffs did not ask to be part of this, the state threw them in the middle of it anyway, most notably the fingerprinting portion is of great concern for him.
The way the bill was written, he said, residents can obtain their background check through any private facility. It does not have to be performed by the sheriff’s office, and there is no time restriction on how recent the background check must be.
That presents a problem because Reams has no way of knowing what the person has done since the background check was run.
“Someone could get a clearance on one day, and six days later have a restraining order filed against them, and we wouldn’t know that,” Reams said. “We have to just look at the report, say, ‘you’re clear,’ and then hand them their card to take the class. We are simply a rubber stamp. It’s a disingenuous process. If you have a background check, all we can do is say, ‘here’s your card, see you later.”
