The U.S. Department of Justice last week demanded Denver and Colorado end longstanding bans on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, and threatened to sue should officials fail to comply — prompting defiance from city and state leaders who on Monday vowed to defend the years-old laws.
“We’re here today to let them know that our answer is ‘Hell no,'” Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said during a news conference 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.”
Since 1989, Denver has restricted the possession and sale of guns with magazines carrying more than 15 rounds — which includes AR-15-style rifles as well as other types of guns. State law has restricted the possession or sale of large-capacity magazines since 2013, the law passing in the wake of the 2012 Aurora theater shooting in which one attacker killed 12 people and injured another 70.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser vowed Monday to defend the state’s ban, and noted that the Colorado Supreme Court upheld the law in 2020.
“I believe the law has reasonable limitations that satisfy Second Amendment protections,” Weiser said in a statement. “Large-capacity magazine laws are responsible policies that decrease the deadly impacts of mass shootings and save lives. The state has a duty to protect Colorado residents from gun violence, and I will vigorously defend our state large-magazine limit law from this attack by the Trump Justice Department.”
In April 28 letters to city and state officials, demanded that both Denver and Colorado stop enforcing the bans, acknowledge the laws are unconstitutional, and enter into consent decrees to ensure the bans are not enforced.
Should the city and state fail to take those steps, the Justice Department will sue to protect Denver and Colorado residents’ Second Amendment right to bear and keep arms, Dhillon wrote in the very similar two-page letters, which both gave a 5 p.m. Tuesday deadline for the city and state to respond before the federal government filed the lawsuit.
“The Ordinance bans many weapons, including AR-15 style semiautomatic rifles,” the letter to Denver officials reads. “Law-abiding Americans own and use for lawful purposes literally tens of millions of AR-15 style rifles. Indeed, it is the most popular rifle in America. The city has banned an arm in common use for lawful purposes by law-abiding citizens. Therefore, the Ordinance violates the Second Amendment.”
Denver officials wholly rejected the DOJ’s stance in a response letter Monday.
“Your request is baseless, irresponsible and a clear overreach of the federal government’s power,” City Attorney Miko Brown wrote in the response.
She noted that six different federal courts have upheld bans on assault weapons or large-capacity magazine bans and that other legal challenges to Denver’s ban have failed.
Denver police Chief Ron Thomas spoke in favor of the ban during a news conference at the Denver City and County Building on Monday. Denver police seized 2,100 guns last year, and fewer than 40 were assault-style weapons, he said.
“That’s less than 2%,” he said. “What that says to me is that there are many fewer weapons that could fall into the wrong hands and be used to harm members of this community.”
Weiser’s office has not yet responded to the Justice Department’s letter, spokesman Lawrence Pacheco said.
City officials and advocates framed the Justice Department’s demand as part of a broader effort by President Donald Trump’s administration to widely weaken gun control efforts. Reversing the bans would make city and state residents less safe, Denver City Councilwoman Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez said.
“When our president attacks policies like Denver’s assault weapons ban, he isn’t just challenging a law,” she said. “He’s challenging our rights to decide what keeps our neighborhoods safe.”
The federal government’s stance that the bans are unconstitutional goes against what courts have found, said Janet Carter, managing director of Second Amendment litigation at , an organization focused on advancing gun control measures.
“The DOJ’s current position is not just an attack on Denver, it is an outlier that ignores the clear and growing consensus in the American judiciary,” she said.
