A federal judge blocked Colorado’s attempt to prevent American adults from obtaining a firearm until 21 years of age.
U.S. District Judge Philip Brimmer issued a preliminary injunction after the law was challenged in court by the Second Amendment advocacy group, Rocky Mountain Gun Owners [RMGO]. The injunction will prohibit the state from enforcing SB23-169 while ongoing litigation proceeds.
The bill, SB23-169, would prohibit anyone under the age of 21 from purchasing a firearm of any kind, rifle, or pistol, except for active duty U.S. military members and peace officers approved by the Peace Officer Standards and Training Board.
In a press release on August 3, RMGO explained they it had brought forth the lawsuit challenging the new law “in light of recent Supreme Court decision NYSRPA v. Bruen.“
“In the Bruen case, the Supreme Court rejected ‘intermediate scrutiny’ – the cost/benefit analysis framework that allowed lower courts to rule against the Second Amendment – and established that the standard for applying the Second Amendment is the text, history, and tradition of the right to keep and bear arms; thereby invalidating the lower court rulings’ justification for gun control.”
Rocky Mountain Gun Owners
Under current federal law, U.S. citizens who are adults above the age of 18 are permitted to purchase a shotgun or rifle; however, the federal minimum age to purchase a pistol is 21. The plaintiffs argued that it is their legal right under the Second Amendment, mirrored in the Supreme Court decision last year, that it is their right as adults to use a firearm for self-defense.
SB23-169 was one of four bills signed into law by Colorado Governor Jared Polis in April targeting gun rights in the state. Another bill signed into law in April also challenged by gun rights advocacy groups aimed to establish a three-day waiting period, “before a firearms seller may deliver a firearm to a purchaser.” Judge Brimmer declined to block this law, allowing it to go into effect.
