Colorado Looks at Adding Fee for State Background Checks

If you buy a firearm in Colorado, of course the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) must clear you in a background check, just like everywhere else in this country. You must also be cleared by Colorado's own Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in a duplicate background check. As one of 12 states currently running an additional check on gun purchasers, Colorado has been picking up the $10.50 tab for each check, at a cost of almost $2 million annually.

Now, Rep. Lois Court wants to change that benefit and will move forward with her plan to charge gun owners with the cost of the fee. It's rumored that this idea actually is going to be the least of Coloradans' worries, if other legislation comes to pass - such as banning semi-auto rifles, reversing the state's Supreme Court's ruling on campus carry and making it illegal to own high capacity magazines.

According to the one of the most "truthful" gun blogs out there, Truth About Guns, on Dec. 31, the CBI tweeted that there was an 8-day, 5-hour wait for background checks. In effect, Colorado -- a state that has no waiting period after a gun purchase -- has instituted a waiting period because it insists on checking an already checked background investigation.

When the Colorado Legislature comes back in session on Jan. 9, you might want to start perking up your ears a bit. Gov. John Hickenlooper can be reached here or by telephone at 303-866-2471.

Colorado's state senators can be reached at 303-866-2316 and state representatives reached at 303-866-2904.

We also are watching Illinois and the movement of its legislature to ban all semi-autos this week. We'll come back with that later.