A federal judge has agreed to wait for the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on a major Second Amendment case before deciding whether several Boulder County firearm restrictions are Constitutional — a move that could make the high court’s upcoming ruling especially consequential for Colorado gun owners.
U.S. District Judge Nina Y. Wang agreed August 28th to pause proceedings in a four-year-old lawsuit challenging firearm ordinances adopted by Boulder County and several municipalities.
At the center of the dispute are restrictions involving so-called “assault weapons” and large-capacity magazines.
The case was brought in 2022 by Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, the National Association for Gun Rights, and individual Colorado gun owners. The plaintiffs have challenged local restrictions on the possession and acquisition of certain commonly-owned firearms and magazines.
Now, the case is waiting on the Supreme Court.
The reason is a case called Viramontes v. Cook County, in which the justices will consider whether the Second Amendment protects the right to possess AR-15-platform rifles and similar semi-automatic firearms.
The Supreme Court’s decision could have enormous implications for Colorado.
Colorado has enacted some of the nation’s most restrictive gun laws in recent years, while numerous local governments have adopted additional restrictions of their own. Boulder County is among those jurisdictions.
Boulder County’s ordinance restricts the manufacture, import, purchase, sale and transfer of certain firearms and magazines within unincorporated portions of the county. The county has already paused enforcement of the portions dealing with so-called “assault weapons” and large-capacity magazines while the federal litigation continues.
The pending Supreme Court case could determine whether those restrictions can survive Constitutional scrutiny.
That is because the Supreme Court has increasingly required lower courts to evaluate firearm restrictions based on the Second Amendment’s text and the nation’s historical tradition of regulating firearms.
The Court’s forthcoming decision in Viramontes could provide lower courts with the guidance they need to determine whether governments can prohibit possession of AR-15-style rifles and other semiautomatic firearms that are widely owned by Americans today.
For Colorado gun owners, the stakes extend well beyond Boulder County.
A ruling recognizing Second Amendment protection for AR-15-platform rifles could put pressure on numerous firearm restrictions throughout the state, including local ordinances targeting so-called “assault weapons.”
Denver, for example, has maintained a local “Assault Weapons” Ban since 1989. The Trump Administration has separately sued Denver, arguing that the city’s ban violates the Second Amendment.
The federal government has also challenged Colorado’s statewide restriction on magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds, arguing that the law violates the Second Amendment.
Those cases are developing at the same time the Supreme Court prepares to address the Constitutional status of AR-15-style rifles.
That makes the coming Supreme Court term potentially one of the most important in years for Colorado’s gun owners.
For now, however, the Boulder County case remains in limbo.
Judge Wang had been asked to resolve the case without a trial after both sides filed motions seeking judgment in their favor. The plaintiffs argued that waiting for the Supreme Court would conserve judicial resources and prevent conflicting rulings.
Local governments opposed the delay and asked Wang to decide the case based on existing law.
Wang ultimately agreed to wait.
The result is that the Constitutionality of Boulder County’s challenged firearm restrictions will likely depend, at least in significant part, on what the Supreme Court says about the Second Amendment and AR-15-style rifles.
For Colorado gun owners, that means a case originating in Illinois could ultimately have consequences far beyond Cook County.
It could determine whether Colorado communities can continue imposing some of the country’s most aggressive restrictions on commonly-owned firearms — or whether the Second Amendment places meaningful limits on how far those governments can go.
Read more at ColoradoPolitics.
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