The Colorado State Shooting Association announced plans Friday to sue the state over a new law that sets standards on firearm purchase record retention.

It is the second legal challenge of a new state law over the past week, after a private prison company sued over safety inspection requirements for immigration detention facilities.

“(The law) treats every gun owner as a potential suspect and gives the government access to sensitive personal information that should be protected by the Constitution,” Representative Ava Flanell, a Republican from Colorado Springs and firearm instructor, said during a press conference at the Centennial Gun Club. “The government does not need evidence of wrongdoing. It does not need to identify a suspect. It does not need judicial approval. Law-abiding citizens’ records can be searched simply because a government official decides to ask for them. That is exactly the type of government intrusion the Fourth Amendment was written to prevent.”

Image

The legislative session that wrapped up in May was a relatively quiet one for new firearm regulations, following years of major policy changes like a three-day waiting period, training requirements for concealed carry and a permit-to-purchase program for many semiautomatic firearms that will begin in August. House Bill 26-1126 grew from a 2024 law that created a state-level firearms dealer permit and established the Firearms Dealer Division within the state’s Department of Revenue. Bill sponsors framed this year’s bill as an attempt to close gaps in that new system. It includes provisions about dealer training, gun store security plans and timelines to report losses and thefts of firearms.

It also expands the record keeping requirements for dealers. They must now track the sales, rentals and exchanges of all firearms, not just pistols and revolvers. Those records need to include a person’s name, age, address and information about the firearm. That is the provision CSSA plans to challenge in federal court, arguing that it infringes on the constitutional protection from unreasonable search and seizures.

The law specifically prohibits the state from using the information collected by dealers to create a gun ownership registry

Senator Cathy Kipp, the bill’s sponsor, called the bill a “targeted, practical regulatory update that happens when you stand up a division, send people into the field and listen to what they find” during an April committee hearing.

Polis signed the bill on June 2. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the litigation.

“This new law requires firearm dealers to turn over their purchase records containing information regarding their customers to a broad array of government employees who may request them without a warrant, without probable cause, without giving any reason,” said David Price, an attorney for CSSA. “We have carefully examined the legal authorities that govern this type of law, and firmly believe that it violates the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable search and seizure.”

The lawsuit will only consider the record keeping part of the law, but CSSA director of operations Daniel Fenlason said the association plans challenges to other sections.

CSSA also filed a lawsuit last year against the permit-to-purchase program set up by Senate Bill 26-3. That lawsuit is ongoing.