Colorado Assault Weapon Ban Challenged

The Firearms Policy Coalition and Colorado State Shooting Association filed suit against Denver's assault weapon ban — the same week the Supreme Court agreed to hear a parallel challenge.

State of play: Denver's ordinance bans a broad category of semi-automatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns the city labels "assault weapons." The new case, Elliott v. Denver, hits that ban directly under the Second Amendment framework the Supreme Court established in Bruen.

Catch up quick:

• NYSRPA v. Bruen (2022) tossed the old interest-balancing test — governments now have to show a historical tradition of analogous regulation, not just argue public safety
• Multiple lower courts have split on how Bruen applies to semi-auto bans, which is exactly why SCOTUS stepped in
• FPC has been running a coordinated litigation campaign across several states, building a record for federal courts to work with

The FPC's argument isn't complicated. Semi-automatic rifles are in common use by millions of law-abiding Americans for lawful purposes. Under Heller and Bruen, that ends the inquiry. There is no Founding-era tradition of banning the most popular centerfire rifles in the country — because there couldn't be. The guns didn't exist. Denver has to produce historical analogues it cannot produce.

The intrigue: The timing is deliberate. With SCOTUS already taking up an assault weapon case, any federal court ruling in Elliott v. Denver becomes part of the legal landscape the justices are operating in. FPC is building pressure from multiple directions simultaneously — circuit courts, district courts, and now SCOTUS — rather than waiting on any single case to move.

What to watch: How the Supreme Court frames its ruling will determine how much work cases like Elliott still need to do. A broad ruling that common-use arms are categorically protected forecloses most municipal bans. A narrow ruling leaves room for cities like Denver to keep fighting in district court for years.

The bottom line: The constitutional question on semi-auto bans is finally getting resolved at the highest level — and FPC isn't waiting for SCOTUS to finish before filing everywhere it can.