The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Denver on Tuesday over the Colorado city’s 37-year-old ban on so-called “assault weapons,” including constitutionally protected semiautomatic rifles, after the Democratic mayor signaled defiance.
The court filing alleges Denver’s firearms ordinance features “politically charged rhetoric” regarding its use of the term “assault weapon.” AR-15-style rifles fall under this category, per the law, despite being the most popular rifle in the nation.
“When the City banned AR-15 style rifles with standard capacity magazines, it banned an arm in common use for lawful purposes by law-abiding citizens,” the federal lawsuit states. “Therefore, the Ordinance violates the Second Amendment, and the United States brings this action to vindicate the rights of Denver citizens whose rights have been—and are continuing to be—violated by Defendants.”
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon brought the legal action against Denver’s city-county government and police department.
“I have directed the Civil Rights Division, through our new Second Amendment Section, to defend law-abiding Americans from restrictions such as those we are challenging in these cases,” she said in a statement. “Law-abiding Americans, regardless of what city or state they reside in, should not have to live under threat of criminal sanction just for exercising their Second Amendment right to possess arms which are owned by tens of millions of their fellow citizens.”
In a letter sent to Denver leaders last week, Dhillon threatened to sue unless city officials agreed to resolve the matter in pre-suit negotiations. Mayor Mike Johnston rejected the demand.
“We’re here today to let them know that our answer is ‘hell no,’” the mayor said on Monday. “No, we will not roll back a common-sense policy that has kept weapons of war off of these city streets for 37 years.”
Denver City Attorney Michiko Brown gave a similar response, calling the DOJ’s litigation threat “baseless, irresponsible, and a clear overreach of the federal government’s power.”
The ordinance was approved by the Denver City Council in 1989 in response to a string of incidents related to gun violence at the time. The law’s text makes it a crime “to carry, store, keep, manufacture, sell, or otherwise possess assault weapons” in Denver.
The DOJ is asking the U.S. District Court in Colorado to prevent Denver police from enforcing the ordinance “to the extent it bans the possession of AR-15 style rifles with standard capacity magazines,” according to the lawsuit.
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“The Constitution is not a suggestion and the Second Amendment is not a second-class right,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said. “Denver’s ban on commonly owned semi-automatic rifles directly violates the right to bear arms. This Department of Justice will vigorously defend the liberties of law-abiding citizens nationwide.”
In response to Dhillon’s letter, Brown vowed to defend the firearms law in court.