Federal judge denies effort to block Colorado’s ghost gun ban
DENVER (KDVR) — A federal judge on Thursday denied an effort to block Colorado’s ban on ghost guns, finding that the law does not infringe on the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
National Association for Gun Rights and its Colorado affiliate, Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, along with three of the groups’ members, filed the lawsuit in January to challenge the prohibition on unserialized 3D-printed firearms. They argued the law was unconstitutional and sought an injunction.
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Judge Gordon P. Gallagher found that Colorado’s law “does not prevent an individual from buying an unfinished frame or receiver or firearms part kit and in no way infringes” on the right to acquire arms. It instead “imposes a condition on the commercial sale of a firearm,” which the U.S. Supreme Court has recently found constitutional, the judge wrote.
Under the law, buyers must have the frame or receiver serialized by a federal firearms licensee, including for past purchases, and get a background check.
State Sen. Rhonda Fields was a prime sponsor of the legislation.
“No one should be able to produce an unregulated, unserialized gun in their home and basement,” Fields, D-Aurora, wrote in a statement. “Ghost guns are far too prevalent and extremely dangerous, which is why we passed commonsense legislation to crack down on the possession, sale, and transfer of these unserialized firearms.”
FOX31 reached out to Rocky Mountain Gun Owners on Friday, but no one with the group was available for an interview.
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Meanwhile, the regulation of ghost guns is set to go before the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices have agreed to take up a Biden administration rule that changes the federal definition of a firearm to include unfinished parts. The move requires the parts to be licensed and include serial numbers, and sales would require background checks.
A U.S. District judge in Texas struck down the rule last year, and a federal appellate panel largely upheld the judge’s ruling. Now it will go before the nation’s high court in the fall or later.
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