Gun ban targeting semiautomatic weapons and handguns temporarily blocked by federal judge

As a result of a temporary restraint order (TRO) issued by a federal judge, several types of semiautomatic rifles and handguns are prohibited from being manufactured, sold, and transferred by a county ordinance in Colorado. Gun rights groups claim that the ban violates the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

A man named Martin Carter Kehoe along with Rocky Mountain Gun Owners and National Foundation for Gun Rights sued the county over the ordinance.

In this case, Sweeney ruled that the plaintiffs have a "substantial likelihood" of winning on merit since they violated a constitutional right.

In the order, it states that the plaintiffs claim that the Ordinance violates their rights under the Second and Fourteenth Amendments, so this claim satisfies the irreparable harm factor.

As for the motion for a preliminary injunction, Sweeney noted that a hearing will take place after the september 8 status conference, so he granted the TRO against the provisions in the bill.

This order allows the county to enforce a part of County Ordinance 2022-5 relating to the ban on rapid-fire trigger activators, which increase the rate at which a gun's trigger is activated.

31 August 2022