At 12:18am this morning, the Colorado House Judiciary Committee voted to move forward an unconstitutional bill that would violate the Second Amendment-protected rights of Colorado citizens.
Yesterday evening, Mountain States Legal Foundation’s Deputy General Counsel, Sean Nation, testified before the Judiciary Committee on the constitutional infirmities of the State Legislature’s proposed “Assault Weapons Ban” bill, citing the precedent set by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Bruen. That case clearly announced that unless the government can point to an historical tradition of a specific type of firearms regulation, any law restricting Second Amendment rights is automatically unconstitutional.
Separately, Sean also raised the argument that the proposed bill potentially violates the 8th Amendment’s prohibition against excessive fines. In its initial proposal, the bill called for fines of $250,000 for a first-time offense, and $500,000 for a second offense. Sean was the only witness to raise this 8th Amendment argument and before the bill passed through the Judiciary Committee, it was amended to remove the excessive fines in favor of a fine of no more than $500. Sean finished his testimony with the statement, “I implore you to think long and hard about whether this legislation complies with your oath to uphold the Constitution.”
While Mountain States never endorses specific candidates or legislation, or retain a lobbyist, we are aware of the threats to our constitutional liberties, and will speak out against those threats. Part of Mountain States’ larger project to take the Constitution on the “offense” means being proactive in 2nd Amendment issues and addressing unconstitutional actions even before they become law.
MSLF’s Center to Keep & Bear Arms is disappointed that this unconstitutional action is moving forward, but we stand ready to defend the Second Amendment rights of Colorado citizens.
You can listen to Mountain States’ testimony here: https://youtu.be/3sX6duwKvcc