Manufacturing any firearm using 3D printers or computer-controlled milling machines will be illegal. House Bill 26-1144 also criminalizes manufacturing large-capacity magazines and devices that increase a gun’s rate of fire. Rep. Emily Sirota (D-Denver) announced the bill February 5. Committee assignment pending.
Colorado banned manufacturing frames and receivers using 3D printers in 2023 through Senate Bill 23-279, effective January 1, 2024. The 2023 law targeted specific firearm parts. This bill bans the entire manufacturing process using specific tools, regardless of what component is being made. Owning a 3D printer or CNC machine and manufacturing any firearm part becomes a crime.
3D printers and CNC machines have thousands of lawful uses: manufacturing parts for repairs, prototyping new products, educational projects, engineering development, hobby machining, small business production. The bill criminalizes possession and use of general-purpose technology based on one possible application.
For centuries, gunsmiths and private citizens manufactured guns without government permission. Colonial Americans made muskets. Frontier settlers made rifles. Modern hobbyists make pistols and rifles for sport, collection, or self-defense.
“Devices that increase rate of fire” could apply to binary triggers allowing one shot per trigger pull and one shot per trigger release, lighter trigger springs, competition triggers with reduced pull weight, polished trigger components, or any modification making a trigger smoother or faster. The bill provides no definition. Gun owners face criminal charges for modifications.
Colorado’s 2013 law banned sale and transfer of magazines holding 15+ rounds. Existing magazines were grandfathered. Manufacturing your own for personal use remained legal. HB26-1144 closes that option. Standard capacity for many handguns: 15-17 rounds. AR-15 standard magazine: 30 rounds.
ATF data shows law enforcement recovered 90,000 ghost guns nationwide from 2017-2023. Approximately 400 million firearms exist in America. Ghost guns equal 0.0225% of total firearms.
Rep. Sirota represents House District 10 in Denver—Park Hill, Montclair, East Colfax. Former Occupy Wall Street organizer, progressive activist. She sponsors HB26-1126 dealer regulations. Rep. Ava Flanell (R-Colorado Springs), former firearms instructor, opposes.
With Democrat supermajorities, passage is likely. Federal courts will address Second Amendment and federal preemption issues.
Sources: Colorado Sun (Feb 5), HB26-1144 summary, SB23-279 (2023), ATF data, Rep. Flanell statement
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