DENVER (KDVR) — Two lawsuits have been filed against Gov. Jared Polis and the State of Colorado after multiple gun bills were signed into law on Friday.
The Rocky Mountain Gun Owners group is suing over two new laws – one that requires a minimum three-day waiting period before a firearm can be purchased and raising the minimum age to purchase a firearm to 21 years old.
The group called the laws “unconstitutional” and is suing on the grounds of the right to bear arms, citing the Supreme Court decision New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen.
Members of the group are funding the lawsuits, the release said.
“The idea that an 18-year-old can vote, serve on a jury that could send someone to jail for life, sign contracts, own property, and even be drafted into our nation’s military, but not be able to possess a basic hunting rifle is asinine. Regardless of age, sex, race, religion, or creed, rights are rights and can’t be cherry-picked by bigoted politicians,” Dudley Brown, president of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, said in a release.
The governor’s office said it does not comment on pending litigation.
Polis signed the bills into law on Friday morning at his office surrounded by activists wearing red shirts reading, “Moms Demand Action,” students from a Denver high school recently affected by a shooting, and parents of a woman killed in the Aurora theater shooting in 2012.
“Coloradoans deserve to be safe in our communities, in our schools, in our grocery stores, in our nightclubs,” Polis said as he signed the measures.
The group said it is strongly considering filing lawsuits against two other laws Polis signed Friday. One that expands the list of who can petition for an extreme risk protection order to include licensed medical care providers, licensed mental health care providers, licensed educators, and district attorneys. The other rolls back some legal protections for the firearm industry, exposing them to lawsuits from the victims of gun violence.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
