A new lawsuit initiated by firearm dealers in Colorado is contesting a recently enacted law that permits “warrantless searches” and mandates federal firearms license holders to maintain a registry of gun transactions.
The lawsuit includes plaintiffs like Centennial Gun Club alongside several firearms dealers and organizations.
Defendants in this case are Governor Jared Polis, Attorney General Phil Weiser, and Heidi Humphries, the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Revenue.
This legal action focuses on HB26-1126, which was signed into law by Polis on June 2, 2026. It stipulates that federal firearms license holders must acquire a state firearms license to conduct gun transfers and increases record-keeping responsibilities. This applies to all retail transactions and requires that the records include details like the name, age, and address of the person receiving the firearm. This comprehensive record-keeping aspect has contributed to the filing of the lawsuit.
According to HB26-1126, law enforcement has the authority to enter FFL stores to inspect these records, and dealers are required to make these records available at all times for authorized officers. Should dealers decline to present their records, they could face charges as serious as a second-degree misdemeanor.
In the claims made by Centennial Gun Club and co-plaintiffs, they argue that these searches infringe upon their privacy rights, highlighting that the Fourth Amendment offers broad protections against warrantless searches, even for businesses engaging with customers who are exercising their constitutional rights.
The lawsuit contends that the law has negatively impacted the plaintiffs’ customers, who are now under the threat of having their legal firearm purchases monitored without a warrant, which could deter them from exercising their rights.
