By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice
Would you need a perfect GPA to speak your mind or worship freely? Mesa County officials say Colorado’s new gun law is treating the Second Amendment that way – and they’ve asked the U.S. Department of Justice to intervene.
In a three-page letter sent this month, the Mesa County Board of Commissioners urged federal authorities to investigate Senate Bill 25-003, calling it a “grotesque misuse of government power” that effectively imposes a discriminatory test on anyone wishing to lawfully own or carry a firearm.
The law, which takes effect in August 2026, requires residents to complete state-approved firearms training, score 90% on a written exam and obtain conditional approval from their sheriff’s office every five years in order to receive or renew a permit.
Mesa County argues the testing requirement has little to do with safety. “The law mandates a written test with a 90% passing threshold – a requirement wholly disconnected from public safety outcomes and more indicative of test-taking ability than responsible firearm ownership,” the letter says.
A new kind of literacy test?
Commissioner JJ Fletcher, who supported the letter, said the county had no choice but to respond after lawmakers brushed aside growing public concern.
“I feel strongly… that our constitutional rights as citizens have been violated by SB3,” Fletcher said. “It violates our residents’ civil rights.” He added, “We want to have the ability to exercise our Second Amendment rights.”
Mesa County’s letter draws a sharp historical comparison. “As a nation, we do not require citizens to pass an exam to speak freely under the First Amendment, or to vote under the Fourteenth or Fifteenth Amendments,” the commissioners wrote. “Yet, in Democrat-controlled Colorado, the right to keep and bear arms is being conditioned upon financial means, test-taking proficiency, and the ability to navigate government bureaucracy.”
They point to echoes of past civil rights abuses. “The Fifteenth Amendment… was intended to prevent states from disenfranchising Americans on the basis of race – directly confronting discriminatory tactics such as poll taxes, literacy tests, and voter intimidation imposed by Democrats in the post-Civil War South,” the letter continues. “Today, State policymakers have enacted a disturbingly similar framework – not to block voting, but to obstruct the constitutional right to self-defense.”
ADA violations and unequal access
The county also warns that SB25-003 may run afoul of federal disability law. “SB25-003 may violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by establishing exclusionary requirements that impose undue hardship on individuals with learning disabilities, cognitive impairments, or physical limitations,” the letter says.
They also argue that it creates barriers for people with different cognitive needs. “The law fails to accommodate diverse learning styles and unfairly penalizes those who process information differently.”
Officials also pointed to how the recurring training, testing and bureaucratic steps could hit low-income families, seniors, and disabled residents the hardest.
Preparing for a legal fight
Fletcher shared that legal conversations are already underway statewide. “We could join a lawsuit with… Rocky Mountain Gun Owners and other counties… but I think it’s ultimately gonna have to be challenged [federally].”
He says the action isn’t only warranted – it’s necessary. “It sends a message that our Western way of life and our constitutional rights are being stripped away.”
The letter asserted the judicial precedent affirming Second Amendment rights. “SB25-003 raises serious constitutional concerns under District of Columbia v. Heller, McDonald v. City of Chicago, and New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen,” the letter notes. These cases affirmed that the right to bear arms is individual and that states cannot impose excessive or arbitrary restrictions.
The commissioners argue that the law doesn’t meet the standard set in Bruen. “SB25-003 erects excessive procedural hurdles with no historical analogue and lacks any demonstrable connection to enhanced public safety.”
Linking gun control and local authority
Mesa County also sees SB25-003 as part of a pattern of state overreach. The letter connects the new law to Colorado’s sanctuary state policies, which it says undermine public safety.
“Colorado’s sanctuary laws continue to obstruct local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities,” the letter states. “Mesa County has consistently rejected this dangerous approach.”
Commissioners shared their history of standing up against the state’s overregulation that prohibits local governments from cooperating with federal agencies. Mesa County pushed back on sanctuary policies and joined a lawsuit over state rules limiting collaboration with ICE in 2024. “These actions show our commitment to public safety, the rule of law, and protecting individual and property rights.”
The road forward
The letter stops short of announcing a lawsuit. Whether the DOJ responds remains to be seen.
Still, Mesa County officials say their message is clear: rights aren’t rights if you have to earn them back with a test. “Conditioning a right on fees, test scores, and permits is not merely flawed policy – it is a blatant violation of civil equality.”