Colorado Gun Owners Sue Over New Law Allowing Warrantless Access to Dealer Records
· Reason
A new Colorado law has raised the hackles of a coalition of gun owners in the state, leading them to challenge its constitutionality in federal court.
Signed into law on June 2 by Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, the Requirements for Firearms Dealers Act requires all gun sellers in the state to allow any "duly authorized peace officer" to inspect their sales records "at all times."
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The bill follows in the footsteps of 11 other states and Washington, D.C., by extending the state's record-keeping requirements for firearms dealers to all retail transactions, including transfers. Dealers will be required to note the customer's name, age, and address, as well as the firearm's serial number, letters, make, and caliber. Failure to comply could result in a fine of up to $75,000, the loss of a dealer's license, and up to a year in jail.
Gun owners in the state are pushing back against this overreach. Ten days after Polis signed the bill into law, three firearms dealers and two firearms associations filed a joint civil suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, arguing that the bill is a "warrantless-inspection scheme for firearms dealers" that violates the Fourth Amendment because it includes no stipulations for warrants or probable cause and no restrictions on time or frequency.
Colorado's law would make it easier for law enforcement to engage in fishing expeditions. Under the law, a Colorado police officer could presumably demand that a dealer provide records of firearms sales for the last month, with no mention of a crime being committed or a suspect in mind. While the bill does prohibit law enforcement from creating or maintaining a firearms registry, that provision seems moot if firearms dealers are themselves forced to maintain the registry for cops.
While the court challenge is ongoing, it's difficult to see how Colorado's law complies with the Supreme Court's precedents on warrantless searches.
In New York v. Burger (1987), the Court ruled that a warrantless search of a "closely regulated" industry violates the Fourth Amendment unless it satisfies three criteria: the state must have a substantial interest in regulating the industry; the warrantless inspections must directly serve that interest, be necessary for the regulatory scheme; and the statute must offer a constitutionally adequate warrant substitute, such as notification and limits on "time, place, and scope," to "impose appropriate restraints" on an officer's discretion.
Colorado's law might satisfy the first criterion. But it appears to fall short of the other two entirely, especially since the law is broad enough to allow sheriffs and campus security alike to inspect the records of any firearms dealer in the state.
Even when the law permits the government to inspect a business without a warrant—an administrative search—the Supreme Court ruled in Los Angeles v. Patel (2015) that the subject must be afforded a review by a "neutral decisionmaker" for the search to be constitutional. Colorado law does not provide firearms dealers with an opportunity for such a review before inspection.
Aside from the record-keeping provisions, the bill adds new administrative burdens for firearms dealers by requiring businesses in the state to provide the Department of Revenue with a "comprehensive security plan." It also tasks the department with adopting rules on acceptable security measures that dealers must comply with. Those requirements will go into effect in October 2027.
State Sen. Cathy Kipp (D–Fort Collins), a cosponsor of the bill, told Complete Colorado the new law "builds on a new bureaucracy established in 2024" to stop "preventable shooting deaths" and reduce gun violence. But another outcome is far more likely: treating gun owners and firearm dealers like de facto criminals.
Colorado lawmakers have created an environment ripe for confrontation between law enforcement and legally armed Americans, all while violating Coloradans' right to privacy.
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