DENVER, CO (June 5, 2019) -- Today, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and Firearms Policy Foundation (FPF) announced the filing of an important brief before the Colorado Supreme Court in Sternberg v. Colorado, a case challenging the StateΓÇÖs ban on so-called ΓÇ£large-capacityΓÇ¥ firearm magazines. The brief may be viewed at www.firearmspolicy.org/legal.

Despite strong protections for the right to keep and bear arms in ColoradoΓÇÖs constitution, the StateΓÇÖs General Assembly enacted a ban on so-called ΓÇ£large-capacity magazines.ΓÇ¥ The law barred the sale, possession, and transfer of such magazines after July 1, 2013.
FPC and FPFΓÇÖs brief, authored by attorney, historian, and FPC Legal Scholar Joseph Greenlee, was joined by Second Amendment Foundation and Millennial Policy Center. In the 28-page brief, the groups provide significant historical facts and context to persuasively counter the StateΓÇÖs false arguments made in defending the gun control scheme, such as the notion that ColoradoΓÇÖs constitutional framers had no concept of repeating rifles and ammunition feeding devices that hold more than 15 rounds.

ΓÇ£Bans on modern-day firearms are often rationalized by the argument that federal and state founders could not have envisioned todayΓÇÖs guns,ΓÇ¥ explained Greenlee. ΓÇ£Our brief shows that the framers of ColoradoΓÇÖs constitution were intimately familiar with firearms capable of firing more than 15 rounds, and that they intended to protect them through an exceptionally strong arms provision in the state constitution.ΓÇ¥
ΓÇ£Firearms that could hold 15 or more rounds of ammunition pre-date even the founding of Colorado as a state,ΓÇ¥ FPC President Brandon Combs said. ΓÇ£Such firearms and magazines are constitutionally protected today, period. Time and technological evolution do not change the fundamental nature or the scope of constitutional rights against government infringement.ΓÇ¥

ΓÇ£This is an important case because it is testing state gun laws against ColoradoΓÇÖs strong right-to-keep-and-bear-arms state constitutional provision,ΓÇ¥ said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. ΓÇ£Frankly, joining in this brief has been a delight, not only because we enjoy working with our colleagues, but also because it offers an opportunity to add a historical perspective to this discussion.ΓÇ¥

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