Thanks to a 3-3 split on the Colorado Supreme Court, Denver can continue to enforce an assault-weapons ban and otherwise regulate guns. It is an important escape for the doctrine of municipal home rule in the face of unwarranted legislative interference.
Denver District Judges Joseph Meyer and Lawrence Manzanares earlier ruled that a 2003 pre-emption law passed by the state legislature does supersede minor ordinances, but Denver still could ban assault weapons, forbid so-called “Saturday night specials,” ban open carry, and pass other restrictions on guns.
The high court split came about because recently appointed Justice Allison Eid, as Colorado solicitor general, had argued that state laws trumped Denver ordinances, and therefore she had to excuse herself from ruling on the case.
State law requires that if the high court deadlocks, previous rulings of lower courts stand.
Judge Meyer had noted there is a state interest in protecting the constitutional right of citizens to own guns, but the right isn’t absolute, and cities may adopt reasonable gun regulations, such as banning the open carrying of firearms, requiring safe storage to keep guns away from kids, and generally prohibiting weapons from being brought into city parks.
“Denver is by far the most densely populated area of Colorado,” Meyer said. “Denver also suffers rates of violent crime far in excess of statewide averages. As [Denver] stated … ‘Simply put, a bullet fired in Denver – whether maliciously by a criminal or negligently by a law-abiding citizen – is more likely to hit something or somebody than a bullet fired in rural Colorado.”‘
It’s worth noting that Meyer also said Denver couldn’t regulate the transportation of guns in vehicles, and he upheld the statewide concealed-carry law.
In an emotional issue like gun regulation, it’s easy to overlook a word like “reasonable.” As we’ve said before, citizens have a right to defend themselves, but we also realize that reasonable controls are necessary. And that’s an issue best decided at the local level.
