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The Trump administration sued the state of Colorado on Wednesday over its restrictions on large-capacity firearm magazines, escalating a broader legal offensive against gun control measures enacted by Democratic-led governments.
The lawsuit, filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in federal court in Denver, argues that Colorado’s law banning magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds violates the Second Amendment rights of residents.
The legal action comes just one day after the Justice Department sued the city of Denver over its long-standing assault weapons ban.
Colorado has restricted the sale and possession of large-capacity magazines since 2013, when lawmakers approved the measure following the deadly 2012 mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora.
“Colorado’s ban on certain magazines is political virtue signaling at the expense of Americans’ constitutional right to keep and bear arms,” Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement.
Dhillon said the department’s newly created Second Amendment Section would continue challenging what she called unconstitutional firearm restrictions.
Last week, Dhillon warned both Denver and Colorado officials that the Justice Department would sue unless they stopped enforcing bans on semiautomatic rifles and large-capacity magazines by Tuesday evening.
Denver City Attorney Miko Brown rejected the demand, calling it “baseless, irresponsible, and a clear overreach of the federal government’s power.”
Both lawsuits ask the court to block enforcement of the laws and require state and local officials to adopt new policies complying with the administration’s interpretation of the Second Amendment.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, a Democrat running for governor, blasted the lawsuit as a “dangerous overreach” that undermines public safety protections.
“Large-capacity magazine laws are responsible policies that satisfy Second Amendment protections, decrease the deadly impacts of mass shootings, and save lives,” Weiser said in a statement. “The state has a duty to protect Colorado residents from gun violence, and I will vigorously defend our state large-capacity magazine limit law from this attack by the Trump Justice Department.”
The Colorado Supreme Court unanimously upheld the state’s magazine restrictions in 2020 after a legal challenge brought by Rocky Mountain Gun Owners.
The group’s executive director, Ian Escalante, praised the Justice Department’s move and accused Colorado leaders of undermining constitutional rights.
“They have been brazenly torching the Constitution and until now, have faced little to no repercussions,” Escalante said in a statement.
Gun safety advocates sharply criticized the lawsuits.
Janet Carter of Everytown Law called the case “a dangerous threat to public safety” and defended Colorado’s law as a life-saving measure.
“Mass shooters using those magazines can fire dozens of rounds in seconds, and Colorado’s common sense measure has protected its residents for over a decade,” Carter said.
Denver has banned the sale and possession of assault weapons since 1989, making it one of the earliest major cities in the country to adopt such restrictions.
