Boulder Gun Ban: Suit Filed By Talk Show Host, Club, Gun Maker

BOULDER, CO -- It didn't take long after the City of Boulder's vote to enact local gun restrictions for a lawsuit to pop up. The city council 9-0 voted May 15 to enact restrictions on firearms within the city limits, and the next day, a suit was filed in federal court by radio personality Jon Caldera and the Boulder Rifle Club and a firearms manufacturer.

The suit names all seven city council members, as well as City Manager Jane Brautigan, Boulder Police Chief Gregory Testa, Mayor Suzanne Jones and Mayor Pro Tem Aaron Brockett.

The plaintiffs seek a declaratory judgment ruling finding the new ordinance 8245 violates the U.S. Constitution as well as multiple provisions of the Colorado State Constitution.

Plaintiffs included Caldera, the Boulder Rifle Club, which has existed since 1889, and Bison Tactical, a local "maker and seller of shooting gear." A final plaintiff is Boulder resident Tyler Fraye, age 20, who is not old enough to own the firearms that now require a minimum age of 21.

The suit alleges that the new laws infringe on the right of self defense, which is "memorialized" in the 2nd Amendment. The suit also says that any rule which raises the age requirement to buy and own a gun violates the Equal Protection clause of the 5th Amendment, as well as the right to free speech under the 1st Amendment.

"Without such a declaration, Plaintiffs will be forced to choose between not exercising their constitutionally and statutorily protected rights or subjecting themselves to criminal fines and jail time," the suit says.

Boulder's new law prohibits the sale and possession of "assault weapons" and Colorado-outlawed high-capacity magazines and bump stocks. Gun owners have until July 15 to get rid of them or sell them, with exemptions for members of law enforcement and people in the military.

Caldera, who is president of the libertarian think tank the Independence Institute, complained in an editorial that Boulder's new "hate law" was being proposed by "anti-gun bigots." He compared himself to activists in the US Civil Rights movement.

"Let it be known, like those who refused to go to the back of the bus, I will not surrender or destroy my guns, nor will I place my name on a government watch list," he wrote.

The suit was filed by the Mountain States Legal Foundation.

Read the complaint here:

Boulder Gun Lawsuit by JeanLotus on Scribd

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