Attorney General Phil Weiser defends large-capacity magazine limitation law as constitutional and necessary to reduce deaths from mass shootings

Aug. 12, 2019 (DENVER, Colo.)— Attorney General Phil Weiser, on behalf of the State of Colorado, today filed a brief with the Colorado Supreme Court in the large-capacity magazine limitation case Rocky Mountain Gun Owners v Polis. In the brief, Weiser explains that the courts have correctly held that the law is constitutional and he urges the Supreme Court to uphold the limit on large-capacity magazines because it protects Coloradans’ constitutional rights while reducing mass shootings and deaths from mass shootings. Weiser released the following statement:

“From Columbine High School to the Aurora theater shooting, we in Colorado are all too familiar with mass shootings and the devastating impacts they have on families and communities. The State has an interest, as well as a duty, to protect the residents of our state from tragic gun violence. Each mass shooting is different. A common denominator in each incident is that the shooter used a large-capacity magazine.

“In the Aurora theater incident in 2012, the shooter fired 65 rounds from a rifle and killed 12 people and injured more than 70 others. Following that tragedy, Colorado enacted a gun safety law that prohibits the sale of detachable magazines that hold more than 15 rounds of ammunition. This state law is being challenged solely under the Colorado Constitution, which guarantees a right to bear arms for personal defense. As the trial court found and the Colorado Court of Appeals confirmed, limiting magazines to 15 rounds of ammunition does not affect a person’s ability to defend themselves, but it can decrease the deadly impacts of mass shootings by reducing the number of people who will be shot during a mass shooting incident.

“The large-capacity magazine law will save lives. It also honors Coloradans’ right to bear arms for personal defense. That is why the Colorado Supreme Court should uphold this law.”

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