United States District Court Chief Judge Philip A. Brimmer issued a preliminary injunction Monday against the new minimum firearm purchase age of 21 in Colorado, citing the NYSRPA v. Bruen (2022) decision.
The case, RMGO v. Polis, was brought by Rocky Mountain Gun Owners (RMGO) on behalf of itself and two private citizens. It is focused on Senate Bill 23-169, which was signed by Gov. Jared Polis (D) and set to go into effect this week.
The plaintiffs focused on two aspects of SB 23-169, one of which said, “A person who is not a licensed gun dealer shall not make or facilitate the sale of a firearm to a person who is less than twenty-one years of age.”
The second crucial aspect said, “It is unlawful for a person who is less than twenty-one years of age to purchase a firearm.”
Rocky Mountain Gun Owners noted that Tate Mosgrove, a private citizen who is also a plaintiff, “is a citizen of Colorado and is older than 18, but younger than 21. It is his ‘present intention and desire to lawfully purchase a firearm for lawful purposes, including self-defense in [his] home.'”
They pointed to the other plaintiff, Adrian S. Pineda, noting that he too is over 18 years of age but under 21 and wishes to lawfully purchase a firearm for self-defense.
Brimmer cited Bruen, noting that it did away with the “two-step test” for weighing the constitutionality of gun control, bringing into focus a historical analysis.
He quoted from Bruen:
When the Second Amendment’s plain text covers an individual’s conduct, the Constitution presumptively protects that conduct. The government must then justify its regulation by demonstrating that it is consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. Only then may a court conclude that the individual’s conduct falls outside the Second Amendment’s “unqualified command.”
Brimmer granted a preliminary injunction, ordering a prohibition against the enforcement of SB 23-169 “effective immediately.”
The case is RMGO v. Polis, No. 1:23-cv-01077 in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010, a speaker at the 2023 Western Conservative Summit, and he holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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