DENVER — A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction on Monday, blocking a law that would raise the firearm-purchase age in Colorado from going into effect.
Senate Bill 23-169, which raised the age for purchasing any firearm in Colorado from 18 to 21, was supposed to become law Monday. Young adults serving in the military or joining law enforcement are exempt.
The complaint was filed Monday in federal district court by Rocky Mountain Gun Owners and two Colorado residents, Tate Mosgrove and Adrian S. Pineda. The plaintiffs claim the law is unconstitutional.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Philip A. Brimmer agreed and granted the injunction.
"The court agrees with the individual plaintiffs that the Second Amendment includes the right to acquire firearms and, therefore, protects the individual plaintiffs’ proposed conduct," Brimmer wrote in the injunction.
“Rocky Mountain gun owners and our members were given, frankly, the biggest win that we have had since we flipped the State Senate and 2014,” RMGO Director Taylor Rhodes said.
The Democratically-controlled state legislature passed a slew of gun laws this year, including Senate Bill 169. Gov. Jared Polis eagerly signed them into law in April.
“These preliminary injunctions are not normally granted unless you have a major likelihood of success,” Rhodes said. "This was just the first piece of the pie. We're not done winning yet.”
The injunction temporally halts the measure from becoming law while the lawsuit plays out.
In a joint statement, three of the bill's sponsors — Senator Kyle Mullica, House Majority Leader Monica Duran and Representative Eliza Hamrick — called the bill "commonsense policy" and said they were disappointed in the judge's ruling.
“Increasing the age to purchase a firearm to 21 is commonsense policy that will prevent gun violence and keep our communities safe, and we disagree with the judge’s interpretation and are disappointed in the decision. We're proud of our work this year to pass several new laws that will reduce firearm deaths and save lives by expanding Colorado's "Red Flag Law", cracking down on ghost guns, holding gun manufacturers accountable and establishing a three-day waiting period to purchase a firearm.”
Members of East High School's chapter of Students Demand Action are frustrated by the judge's decision. The group fought for the bill as it moved through the legislative session.
“This was one of the tiny victories for us this year," said Stella Kaye, vice president of the chapter. "It was a small step to approaching a really big issue.”
“Youth activism has taken, like, such a climb. Like, it's grown as a movement within these past couple of years," said Norah Krause, the social media coordinator of the chapter. "Whether it's gun activism or climate activism. But consistently at the federal level, it's not as representative and it's not as listened to.”
Krause and Kaye said they supported the legislation for a number of reasons, including lining up the legal drinking age with the legal age a person can buy a gun and preventing youth suicides.
“People oftentimes forget that as teenagers, we're persistent," Kaye said. "Though it could feel discouraging, I think people forget that we're probably just going to keep being persistent and annoying to some, but not going to stop until it gets passed. We did it once. We're going to do it again. I can assure you.”
