In a huge victory for the Second Amendment, a Local AR-15 ban has been overturned by a judge.
Boulder, Colorado’s ban on the ownership of AR-15’s and magazines carrying more than 10 rounds was struck down by Colorado state judge Andrew Hartman. Hartman struck down the ban because it violated the state’s Preemption law, which prevents localities from imposing gun regulation above and beyond the state’s law. The ruling requires that Boulder stop the enforcement of the ban immediately.
From The Washington Free Beacon:Â
The ruling is the latest in a string of victories for gun advocates who have used state preemption laws to overturn strict local gun regulations. A Washington court struck down a local ordinance on gun storage in February 2021, and a Pennsylvania court struck down Pittsburgh’s attempt to regulate the use of AR-15s inside city limits in October 2019.
Jon Caldara, a longtime Boulder resident who openly flouted the AR-15 ban, said he was “thrilled” by the ruling. The former Denver Post columnist and Independence Institute president publicly announced he would not comply with the order to turn over his AR-15 or ammunition magazines when the ban was instituted in 2019. He filed a separate federal suit against the ordinance and said his family has received backlash from supporters ever since.
“I was probably the most publicly known criminal in Boulder,” he told the Washington Free Beacon. “That made us social outcasts. And it was really bad. My daughter got bullied at school for our position.”
Caldara said the ruling will force the city to live up to its stated ideals.
Gun rights are being restored even as Democrats in Congress plot further restrictions through the ATF and other government agencies. Many gun-rights advocates in the area are worried that local Democrats will push for the abolition of the Preemption laws so that they can push more gun control without fear of a judge striking the laws down.
