No, Amendment 83 Does Not Let Anyone Machine Gun Wildlife

On October 5, one of the hosts of the Get More Smarter podcast told listeners that Amendment 83 would let people hunt “really however you want,” up to and including “mowing down animals with machine guns,” and that it could bring back banned traps. (Listen at minute 23.) We read the actual measure, the state’s nonpartisan Blue Book, and the laws already on the books. None of the scary claims hold up.

Claim 1: You could hunt “really however you want,” even with machine guns

“…like mowing down animals with machine guns or something. They’re saying you have the right to hunt and fish really however you want.”One of the hosts, Get More Smarter, 23:24

Read the text and the claim falls apart. The right covers hunting and fishing “by the use of traditional methods,” only for species the state manages, and it excludes endangered species, nongame species and anything illegal to hunt under federal law. Section (4) says outright that it “does not limit the authority” of the legislature or wildlife agencies to regulate when needed for “sound scientific wildlife conservation and management, public safety, or to preserve the future of hunting and fishing opportunities.” (Initiative #302 text) That is the opposite of “however you want.”

The machine gun part has nothing to stand on. The word “firearm” doesn’t appear in Amendment 83. Machine guns are controlled by federal law: the National Firearms Act of 1934 (ATF) and the 1986 Hughes Amendment, 18 U.S.C. § 922(o), which bans civilians from getting any machine gun made after May 19, 1986 (Cornell LII). A state constitution cannot override federal law. And the amendment itself excludes anything illegal under federal law.

Even the state’s own analysts disagree with the hosts. The Blue Book says Amendment 83 “results in no immediate change to existing state law or regulations.” (Blue Book)

Claim 2: “Traditional methods” will bring back grotesque traps

“There’s a word in there that says by traditional methods… this will let them bring back some of these really old, grotesque, painful traps.”Get More Smarter, 23:43

Colorado’s trap ban is in the constitution, and 83 leaves it alone. Voters passed Amendment 14 in 1996 (Colorado SOS). It’s now Article XVIII, Section 12b: “It shall be unlawful to take wildlife with any leghold trap, any instant kill body-gripping design trap, or by poison or snare in the state of Colorado.” (Colo. Const. art. XVIII, § 12b)

Amendment 83 doesn’t mention traps, trapping or Section 12b, and it doesn’t repeal or amend anything. It would sit in the same article as a new Section 13, right alongside the trapping ban. Notice the hosts never quote the text on this point. They quote “friends in the animal rights community.”

The honest caveat: “traditional methods” isn’t defined, and the official Argument Against says vague language “could prompt costly legal challenges.” (Blue Book) That’s a fair debate. “This brings back leghold traps” is a prediction with no text, ruling or analysis behind it.

Claim 3: “A solution in search of a problem”

“…it seems like a solution in search of a problem, and because Advance Colorado is involved.”Get More Smarter, 24:07

That’s their opinion, and they’re entitled to it. Here’s what they left out. According to the Blue Book, 24 other states already protect hunting and fishing in their constitutions, and supporters argue it “provides lasting protection against future attempts to restrict or eliminate hunting and fishing.” (Blue Book) Colorado has already seen wildlife policy go straight to the ballot, so the “problem” isn’t hypothetical to the hunters and anglers who fund conservation.

On who’s behind it: the Colorado Sun reports Advance Colorado filed the measure and that a Wisconsin-based hunting group has funded much of the campaign (Colorado Sun). Attacking who filed it doesn’t change a word of what it says.

The bottom line

A podcast told Colorado voters a hunting amendment would unleash machine guns on wildlife. The measure doesn’t mention guns, federal law already bans new civilian machine guns, the state keeps its power to regulate, and the constitutional trap ban stays put. Read it yourself. It’s one page.

Sources

1. Get More Smarter, “SPECIAL EPISODE: Statewide Ballot Measure Rundown,” Oct. 5, 2026
2. Colorado Secretary of State, Initiative 2025-2026 #302, Final Text
3. Colorado Legislative Council, 2026 Blue Book analysis of Amendment 83
4. Colorado Secretary of State, Amendments and Propositions on the 2026 Ballot
5. Colorado Constitution, Art. XVIII, § 12b
6. Colorado Secretary of State, 1996 Amendment 14 results and ballot question
7. ATF, National Firearms Act
8. 18 U.S.C. § 922
9. Cornell LII, Hughes Amendment
10. The Colorado Sun, “Amendment 83 explained,” Oct. 1, 2026