The Justice Department on Wednesday sued Colorado over a state law banning high-capacity ammunition magazines that was passed after a 2012 mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo.
It was the second lawsuit in two days that the Trump administration has filed against gun-control policies in the Democratic-controlled state, part of a barrage of attacks on Colorado during President Trump’s second term. On Tuesday, the Justice Department sued Denver over a 1989 city law banning assault weapons.
In the suits filed this week, the Justice Department argues that the gun-control laws violate the Second Amendment right to bear arms. In Wednesday’s filing, the department says the statewide ban on magazines that hold more than 15 rounds effectively outlaws standard magazines used in many popular weapons.
City and state officials have responded with defiance to both lawsuits. Attorney General Phil Weiser of Colorado said the Justice Department’s suit against the magazine ban was a “dangerous overreach” by the federal government and put Coloradans at risk.
