The Justice Department sued the city of Denver, escalating the Trump administration's aggressive push against local gun restrictions and setting up a major legal battle over the scope of the Second Amendment.
The federal lawsuit, filed in Colorado federal court, challenges Denver's decades-old ban on so-called assault weapons, including AR-style semi-automatic rifles, arguing that the ordinance violates the constitutional rights of law-abiding gun owners.
The lawsuit came less than 24 hours after Denver officials publicly refused demands from the Department of Justice to repeal the law, which has been in place since 1989 and is considered one of the oldest municipal assault weapons bans in the United States.
"The Constitution is not a suggestion, and the Second Amendment is not a second-class right," Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement released Tuesday. "Denver's ban on commonly owned semi-automatic rifles directly violates the right to bear arms."
According to the Justice Department, Denver's ordinance unlawfully bans firearms that are "in common use" for lawful purposes, a legal standard established by the U.S. Supreme Court in major Second Amendment cases, including District of Columbia v. Heller.
Denver leaders have refused to back down.
Mayor Mike Johnston called the DOJ demand "federal overreach" and defended the city's law as a longstanding public safety measure that has helped keep military-style weapons off Denver streets.
"Our answer is hell no," Johnston said Monday while standing alongside city officials and law enforcement leaders. "Denver's law has stood for 37 years because it works, it saves lives, and it reflects the values of our community."
The Denver ordinance restricts possession and sale of certain semi-automatic rifles and firearms with high-capacity magazines. The law was originally enacted during a period of rising concern over gun violence and was later strengthened after a wave of mass shootings nationwide.
The legal clash also unfolds against the backdrop of Colorado's long and painful history with mass shootings, including the 2012 theater shooting in Aurora, where a gunman killed 12 people and wounded dozens more. That massacre led Colorado lawmakers to adopt statewide restrictions on large-capacity magazines in 2013.
The Trump administration has also threatened to sue Colorado over those magazine restrictions, signaling a broader strategy by the Justice Department to aggressively challenge gun control laws in Democratic-led states and cities.
Denver City Attorney Miko Brown said the city would "vigorously defend" its ordinance, calling the DOJ's position "baseless, irresponsible, and a clear overreach of the federal government's power."
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