Opponents in this week’s legal tussle about portions of a new Colorado gun-control law were each claiming that an eleventh-hour agreement represented a victory for their side.
The question pivoted on whether Democrats blinked or won in agreeing to an expansion of the legal language.
“We got everything that we wanted,” said Weld County Sheriff John Cooke, an outspoken opponent of the new gun legislation.
The Republican is one of 55 sheriffs who filed a lawsuit against Gov. John Hickenlooper in federal court claiming the laws infringe on Second Amendment rights. As part of the suit, they sought an injunction to prohibit enforcement of aspects of the magazine-limit law until the entire suit is resolved.
A federal judge Wednesday declined to grant a preliminary injunction filed on parts of the law banning magazines that can be readily converted to hold more than 15 rounds.
The judge noted that the previous evening, attorneys from both sides agreed on clarifications to the “technical guidance” issued from the state attorney general’s office, including a restrictive interpretation of the readily converted component.
State Rep. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, said the two sides may have agreed upon new language, but the judge’s decision to not grant the injunction hurt the sheriffs’ case and reinforced the Democrats’ work during the legislative session.
“It clearly validates that the laws that went into effect July 1 are enforceable,” Fields said. “The sheriffs have conceded that they (the laws) are enforceable.”
The plaintiffs for the case call the changes in guidance from the attorney general’s office a clear success for one of the most contentious aspects of the magazine law.
“They went from banning 100 percent of magazines with a removable base plate to banning zero percent,” said Dave Kopel, who is representing the sheriffs in the lawsuit.
Kopel is a law professor at the University of Denver and a staff member of the Independence Institute, a Denver-based think tank.
Kopel’s reference of 100 percent of magazines stems from rigorous debates on the legislative floor and a statement Fields made to 9News on March 14, when she said all magazines with a removable base plate would be “illegal.”
The Tuesday night change of that component does not bother Fields, she said.
“I’m totally OK with it,” she said.
In addition to the readily converted language, technical changes were agreed upon for grandfathered magazines that hold more than 15 rounds. Originally, loaning the magazines was only permissible as long as the borrower stayed within “continually physical presence” of the owner.
Under the new guidance language from Tuesday night, that is no longer necessary.
Megan Castle, a spokeswoman for Hickenlooper, said it was the governor’s idea to seek the technical guidance from the attorney general.
“So it seems that the wisdom of doing so has been borne out,” Castle said.
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said he was pleased with clarifying agreement.
“The agreement is consistent with the reasonable, narrow reading of the statute that we have advocated, and it now allows the court to expeditiously move to consideration of the Second Amendment implications of the statute,” Suthers said.
El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa, another outspoken critic of the new legislation and a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said the governor conceded on the language at the last minute.
“We can put a check mark in the box next to this, and the community can see we had a credible claim,” he said.
Overall, Fields said she felt good about the first round of the lawsuit.
“Colorado continues to lead the way for the rest of the nation,” she said, “and this reinforces we are on the right track.”
Ryan Parker: 303-954-2409, [email protected] or twitter.com/ryanparkerdp
