Colorado House Republicans have asked U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to have the new Second Amendment Task Force focus attention on the Centennial State, which is among the “Dirty Dozen” states identified recently by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms as jurisdictions which have treated the Second Amendment as a government-regulated privilege.
Last week, CCRKBA called on the attorney general to focus the Task Force on the states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Washington.
Colorado Public Radio (CPR) is reporting that Centennial State Republicans sent a letter to Bondi last week as well. It was also dated April 14, the same day CCRKBA sent its letter, which may be read here.
According to the Denver Post, Republicans want “immediate intervention” by Bondi, although she may not have the authority to unilaterally take action.
But that isn’t exactly what the letter requested. In their letter, the Republicans specifically stated, “We write to you as the collective voice of the Colorado House Republicans and are requesting that the
United States Attorney General’s Office, by jurisdiction of the Second Amendment Task Force, review the constitutionality of legislation that was recently signed into law by Governor Polis: SB25-003, Semiautomatic Firearms & Rapid-Fire Devices.”
The Second Amendment was incorporated to the states via the 14th Amendment in the Supreme Court’s 2010 McDonald v. City of Chicago ruling.
They added, “The Colorado House Republican Caucus stands in unified opposition to this infringement on the Second Amendment rights of Colorado citizens and will continue to advocate fiercely against such violations. With state-level legal challenges impending, we are calling on the federal administration to aid our efforts in challenging the constitutionality of SB25-003.”
Since Bondi’s announcement, gun rights activists in several states—especially those identified in CCRKBA’s letter—have expressed hopes she will launch probes into restrictive gun control laws. All of the states listed by CCRKBA are controlled by Democrats.
The Denver Post is quoting Colorado House Speaker Julie McCluskie calling the GOP letter “cowardly,” and an attempt to challenge legislation passed by a majority of legislators.
In their letter, the Republicans state, “SB25-003 criminalizes otherwise law-abiding licensed firearm dealers and sellers by making the transfer or sale of specified semiautomatic firearms without state-approved documentation a class 2 misdemeanor, followed by a class 6 felony for any subsequent infractions. The bill further targets firearm dealers and their employees’ livelihoods by imposing harsh penalties for a violation, such as mandatory revocation of business licenses by the Department of Revenue. Finally, SB25-003 places a financial and bureaucratic burden on law-abiding citizens, forcing them to navigate excessive red tape and pay steep fees simply to exercise their Second Amendment right.
“The right to keep and bear arms is not a privilege – it is a fundamental American right,” Republicans note. “We look forward to working with you, the recently established Second Amendment Task Force, and the Trump Administration as a whole as the Colorado House Republicans continue to fight to protect the constitutional rights of our Colorado citizens.”
CPR notes in its report, “It’s unusual for lawmakers to directly petition the U.S. Justice Department to review a freshly signed state law. Traditionally, disputes over a state law’s constitutionality are worked out in the courts.”
