Why it matters
Lawful gun owners and licensed dealers now have to follow expanded protection order requests and new state dealer standards, while the blocked barrel bill preserves private and online barrel sales for now. The Denver lawsuit will test how far local bans on commonly owned firearms and magazines can go.
Legislature adjourns after sending three gun bills to governor
The Colorado legislature adjourned sine die last night, ending the 2026 session, with three gun bills sent to Gov. Jared Polis, according to NRA-ILA, the National Rifle Association lobbying arm.
S.I. News Desk: Polis signed Senate Bill 26-004 and House Bill 26-1144, and he allowed House Bill 26-1126 to become law without his signature, NRA-ILA reported. Sine die means lawmakers ended the session without setting a day to return.
A deadline schedule prepared by Legislative Council Staff listed May 13 as the 120th day of the session. NRA-ILA said its work to defend Second Amendment rights remains more critical than ever after the adjournment, with anti-gun majorities in both chambers sending the three bills to the governor.
Protection orders expand, printing of illegal guns barred
Senate Bill 26-004 broadly expands who can ask a court for an extreme risk protection order, a request to restrict firearm access, by adding institutional petitioners as eligible requesters.
NRA-ILA described the expansion in Senate Bill 26-004 as broad and listed institutional petitioners as the new category added this session. The bill was one of two gun measures Polis signed.
House Bill 26-1144, the other signed measure, prohibits the private use of 3-D printers and milling machines to make firearms and firearms parts that are already illegal or restricted under state law. The prohibition is tied to items state law already bars or restricts, according to the NRA-ILA summary.
State standards for licensed gun dealers get an overhaul
House Bill 26-1126 overhauls state level industry standards for FFLs, meaning federally licensed firearm dealers, and became law without Gov. Jared Polis signing it.
NRA-ILA calls House Bill 26-1126 an FFL-Killer bill, the label the group uses for the overhaul of state level industry standards for licensed dealers. The measure reached the governor desk along with the other two gun bills this session, and it became law without his signature.
Barrel sales bill dies in House before adjournment
Senate Bill 26-043 failed to pass the House before adjournment, blocking a proposal that would have required every firearm barrel sale or transfer to go in person through a licensed dealer.
Under the failed bill, private sales and online sales of firearm barrels would not have been permitted, NRA-ILA said. The group said the plan would have added hurdles for firearm dealers already highly regulated under both federal and state law.
NRA-ILA called the failure a significant victory for law-abiding gun owners. The outcome leaves barrel sales outside the new in person dealer requirement that Senate Bill 26-043 would have created.
Denver gun bans face federal lawsuit from Justice Department
The United States Department of Justice is suing the City of Denver over its bans on assault weapons and magazines, a federal case NRA-ILA cited as another front in Colorado.
NRA-ILA called the Denver bans unconstitutional and said the federal lawsuit highlights an ongoing battle against local and state level limits aimed at commonly owned firearms and magazines. The group described Colorado as a Second Amendment battleground with significant legislative and legal movement.
