DOJ Challenges Colorado Magazine Limit in Federal Court

The Aurora Sentinel, republishing Colorado Newsline’s Lindsey Toomer, reports that the U.S. Department of Justice has sued Colorado over its 2013 law restricting magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds. The DOJ argues the law violates the Second Amendment rights of Coloradans, coming just one day after the department sued Denver over its assault weapons ban.

The article notes Colorado passed the magazine limit after the 2012 Aurora theater shooting, and that the Colorado Supreme Court upheld the law in 2020 after a challenge from Rocky Mountain Gun Owners. Now the DOJ is asking a federal court to stop Colorado from enforcing the ban and require new policies. Translation: the federal government finally noticed Colorado Democrats have been treating the Second Amendment like a suggestion written in pencil.

The Bullet Point Brief

• The DOJ is suing Colorado over its 15-round magazine limit, saying it violates the Second Amendment. Good. The Constitution does not come with a Denver-approved accessory list.
• Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon called the ban “political virtue signaling” at the expense of constitutional rights. That sound you heard was every gun-control lobbyist clutching a grant-funded pearl necklace.
• Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser called the lawsuit a “dangerous overreach” and promised to defend the law. Of course he did. Nothing says “civil rights” like defending the government’s right to restrict yours.
• Rocky Mountain Gun Owners’ Ian Escalante said Colorado has shown “nothing but disdain” for God-given rights for the last decade. That may be the cleanest summary of Colorado gun policy under ruling Democrats you will read all week.
• Gun-control advocates argue the law saves lives and gives communities tools to keep people safe. That is always the pitch: give up just a little more liberty and the government will finally deliver safety. Spoiler alert: the invoice keeps growing, and the promise never quite arrives.

My Bottom Line

Again, I am thrilled to see the DOJ defending the God-given Second Amendment rights of Colorado citizens.

Under Polis and the ruling elitist Democrats, those rights have been under attack for nearly a decade. They nibble here, restrict there, redefine this, ban that, regulate the other thing, and then act shocked when citizens notice the pattern. It is never one law. It is the pile. It is the constant pressure. It is the steady belief that your rights are subject to their political comfort.

Government is supposed to defend our God-given rights, not attempt to take them. That is the whole arrangement. We do not have a Bill of Rights because government is generous. We have it because government is dangerous when left unattended.

And yes, Democrats will wrap every gun restriction in tragedy, emotion, and the language of “common sense.” But rights are not suspended because politicians find the right backdrop for a press conference. The Second Amendment is not second-class. It is not optional. It is not a relic. It belongs to the people.

So good. Sue them. Challenge the law. Make Colorado’s ruling Democrats defend their restrictions in federal court. Because for too long, they have passed bills first and left citizens to spend years and fortunes trying to get their rights back. That is backwards. The Constitution should not require a GoFundMe and a decade of litigation to mean what it says.

Source: The Aurora Sentinel