Lawsuit will decide future of Colorado gun laws

By Jacy Marmaduke

More than five weeks after a federal judge took the case under advisement, Coloradans are still awaiting a decision in a lawsuit that would overturn the state’s controversial set of gun control measures.

A group of sheriffs, gun shop owners and others filed the lawsuit last year in an effort to overturn legislation that limits magazine capacity to 15 rounds and requires background checks for private and online gun sales. U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger heard the two-week civil trial in April.

The Colorado legislature passed the laws in 2013 after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Krieger ruled that the 55 sheriffs who signed on couldn’t sue Colorado in their official capacity, only as private citizens.

At trial, they argued that the laws will harm businesses and were based on emotion rather than evidence. Defendants representing Gov. John Hickenlooper argued the laws, which went into effect in July 2013, would bolster public safety.

The laws set off a historical recall of two senators, and another resigned in the face of a recall election. An April Quinnipac University Poll found that 39 percent of Colorado voters were in favor of the laws, while 56 percent opposed them. In a poll released just a month earlier, support sat at 43 percent and opposition was at 52 percent.

Jacy Marmaduke is a News21 Peter Kiewet Fellow.