Denver mayor responds to DOJ demands on assault weapon law: "Hell no"
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston didn't mince words in response to a letter sent last week from the Department of Justice threatening to sue unless the city stops enforcing its so-called ban on "assault weapons."
"We're here today to let them know that our answer is 'Hell no,'" said Johnston.
"There are too many Coloradans we've had to say goodbye to in too many places because of the impact of assault weapons," he added.
Since 1989, city ordinance has made it a crime to carry, store, keep, manufacture, or sell these weapons. Included in the city's definition of an assault weapon is a semiautomatic pistol or rifle with the feeding device capacity of more than 15 rounds, but it's not an outright ban of these types of guns.
"If I go buy an AR-15 and then put a magazine in it that can hold more than 15 rounds, then it definitely would be banned," said Huey Laugesen, the executive director of the Colorado State Shooting Association.
But, to the CSSA, even restricting capacity is an infringement on a Denver resident's Second Amendment rights.
"It's unconstitutional, whichever way you spin it," said Laugesen.
Laugesen says the association met with acting attorney general Todd Blanche less than two weeks ago, and that they're the ones behind the DOJ taking action.
"He did indicate to us that he was taking it seriously and would be taking a closer look at what was going on in Colorado," said Laugesen.
As far as what's next, both groups are standing by their convictions and prepared to defend their stances in court.
"If this ban is threatened in court, we will not stand by," said City Councilwoman Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez.
On the other hand, CSSA says it's eager to work directly with the DOJ to continue to fight the ordinance.
On Tuesday, following Johnston's response, the Justice Department filed suit against the City of Denver, alleging that the city bans certain constitutionally protected semi-automatic rifles.
"I have directed the Civil Rights Division, through our new Second Amendment Section, to defend law-abiding Americans from restrictions such as those we are challenging in these cases," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "Law-abiding Americans, regardless of what city or state they reside in, should not have to live under threat of criminal sanction just for exercising their Second Amendment right to possess arms which are owned by tens of millions of their fellow citizens."