After its threats to do so were dismissed by City leaders, the Trump administration sued the city of Denver on Tuesday over the city’s assault weapons ban.
The 37-year-old law violates the 2nd Amendment, the Department of Justice said in its complaint. The local law makes it a crime “to carry, store, keep, manufacture, sell, or otherwise possess assault weapons” in Denver. The ban was voted into law in 1989 after a rash of gun violence, and has widely been endorsed by the city’s chiefs of police since.
The Trump administration had said it would not immediately file a lawsuit if the city agreed to stop enforcing its ban, but city officials on Monday categorically rejected the threat, calling it “baseless, irresponsible, and a clear overreach of the federal government’s power.”
The guns covered by the ban include the AR-15 platform, semiautomatic pistols with a capacity over 15 rounds, semiautomatic shotguns that hold more than six rounds, or parts that convert firearms into automatic weapons.
One question for the DOJ may be where it will find lawyers to litigate the suit; The New Republic reports that the Department is in ‘crisis’ as thousands of lawyers have retired or quit in disgust over the weaponization of the agency.
Colorado Ceasefire is speaking with allied organizations about possible responses to the DOJ’s suit. Stay tuned.