Firearms instruction could see some changes amid new Colorado gun law

Gov. Jared Polis has signed a bill that means Colorado will have one of the most restrictive gun laws in the country. The new law makes it illegal to buy, sell, and manufacture certain types of semi-automatic firearms without passing two background checks, obtaining a permit from a local sheriff's office, and completing a firearms training course certified by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

The law also outlaws rapid-fire conversion devices, like bump stocks, which make semiautomatic guns operate like an automatic weapon. Restrictions apply to new purchases only starting in August 2026.

"For us, it's a very complex situation."

That's how Edgar Antillon describes the changes that could be coming to firearms training locations like his.

"We average about three or four classes a week, and each one of them averaging about 25 students," said Antillon.

Antillon is the founder of Guns for Everyone, which started back in 2010. Antillon's location in Westminster offers free concealed carry classes in response to previous legislation that began mandating the eight-hour course in order to obtain a permit.

The new gun law now requires new steps for future gun owners. This includes a 12-hour course on top of a sheriff's office approval before a person may purchase a gun that has a detachable magazine.

This change already has people like Antillon wondering how this will impact their existing coursework.

"As of right now, we don't know," he said. "If you read the law, part of it says that CPW has to create the final product. They just mandate what has to be in that curriculum, but we don't know what's going to be in that curriculum completely come next year."

Instructors like him don't know if these new hours will stack up with current class requirements, particularly with people who still have to take a course to obtain a concealed carry permit.

"If anything, you're probably seeing [people say], 'I'm not going to take the class, so let me go buy the guns now so I don't have to take the class,'" said Antillon.

He is also wary of how the new law could change how he motivates students in class.

"The shift in psychology, the shift in how humans interact in class, because now it's a forced thing," he said. "The brain just isn't in the class. They're just checking off a box so they can get a little piece of plastic to defend themselves."