Supreme Court decision won't affect regulations in Denver, experts say
By Berny Morson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published June 27, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
CORRECTION: An information box with an earlier version of this story should have said that most semiautomatic weapons are legal under Denver law. The error was corrected.
Denver's gun laws won't be altered by Thursday's U.S. Supreme Court ruling affirming an individual right to keep weapons, legal experts said.
The Washington, D.C., law struck down by the high court was far more restrictive than the Denver ordinance, noted University of Colorado law professor Scott Moss.
"That's the reason gun rights advocates challenged that one, not Denver's," said Moss, who teaches constitutional law and followed the case closely.
Gun rights advocates consider Denver's laws the most stringent in the state. But the Denver measures square with the Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling in at least one major area.
Restrictions in Denver on carrying weapons do not apply if a person is defending his or her home. The right of individuals to defend their homes was the central holding of ruling written by Justice Antonin Scalia.
He also went out of his way to reassure a public nervous about school shootings that guns may be banned on campus, as provided by Colorado law.
The ruling struck down Washington's requirement that guns stored in homes have trigger locks. Denver's ordinance requires trigger locks in homes where children live, excluding numerous homes where only adults live.
The decision doesn't indicate how the court might have ruled if the child safety issue had been raised in the case before the court, Moss said.
If Denver's trigger lock provision is ever challenged, gun rights advocates are likely to ask the question of why parents should have less access to guns for self defense than other citizens, said Tony Fabian, an attorney who is also president of the Colorado State Shooter's Association.
Assistant City Attorney David Broadwell doubts the rules in Denver will be affected by the high court decision. It was "carefully crafted" to meet a provision of the state constitution that gives people the right to self-defense - exactly what Scalia was asserting as a right under the Second Amendment.
But the ruling seems to put a damper on suggestions of additional gun laws in Denver, said Doug Linkhart, chairman of the City Council's safety committee.
Mayor John Hickenlooper said he wanted to explore new measures after an 8-year-old girl was injured in a drive-by shooting and police killed a man Sunday morning who fired on officers.
Linkhart said, "We don't regulate gun ownership, for the most part, in Colorado. It's pretty much open season to begin with, so anybody thinking about further gun control, I think, would have to think twice after the ruling. But I doubt it would undo much of what we have because we don't have very much."
In the city: major provisions
Guns may not be carried except for:
* Holders of concealed-carry permits.
* Hunters carrying a gun in a vehicle.
* Motorists who are armed "for lawful protection" of themselves, another person or property while traveling.
A person may defend against a charge of illegally carrying a gun by showing he or she:
* Was defending his or her home.
* Is a member of the armed forces.
* Was on the way to a sporting event where guns are legal (guns must be unloaded).
* Is a collector or licensed dealer (guns must be unloaded).
* Was aiding "the civil power when thereto legally summoned."
Other provisions
* Guns may not be sold to intoxicated people or minors.
* Semiautomatic weapons are banned in most cases.
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June 27, 2008
1:43 a.m.
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happymike44 writes:
All I know is gun control is being able to hit your target.
I am glad to see them rule in favor of our right to bear arms.
That way the lying murdering scum on this planet have to wonder do I feel lucky today.
At least we can defend ourselves from our enemies both foreign and domestic.
June 27, 2008
2:28 a.m.
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rambam1776 writes:
You misunderstand the scope of the ruling (foreign and domestic???) It means that non-felons have the right to have guns at home to protect their homes. You still need a permit to carry elsewhere, depending on your local jurisdiction.
June 27, 2008
5:57 a.m.
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youngman writes:
Does anyone know where I can get a copy of Denvers gun laws and their specifics?
"Semiautomatic weapons are banned in most cases"
What are the MOST cases? pistols, rifles?
I know they have a magizine requirement also.
When the two GANG incidents happened this weekend..I said GANG..the papers or the mayor didn't...they immediatly said they needed to look at the gun laws.....what? Why not round up the Gangbangers first. Or keep them in jail...for a very long time...like forever...right now we have no penalities for the criminal...but many for the victim.....
June 27, 2008
6:43 a.m.
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Mike_In_Hartsel writes:
Drive-by shootings are not a gun control issue but a gang control issue. Liberals like Hick think stricter gun control laws will make the streets safer. It's never worked.
June 27, 2008
8:04 a.m.
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unvarnished_truth writes:
The sidebar states, "Semiautomatic weapons are banned in most cases." This is a case of liberal wishful thinking affecting the objectivity of reporting. Semi-automatic weapons are not banned in Denver. Even semi-auto AR-15s -- those dreadful, "dangerous" black rifles our military has been using since Vietnam in full auto -- are not banned in Denver; only magazines for them in excess of 20 rounds capacity are prohibited by Denver's ordinance, which is itself an absurd, arbitrary, capricious and unconstitutional restriction.
This blatantly false statement is just one of a million reasons to get one's news from sources other than the blindly liberally biased mainstream media.
And for all the hysterical liberals out there fainting over Thursdays Supreme Court decision: Guns don't cause crime, they STOP it.
June 27, 2008
8:59 a.m.
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ItsJustme writes:
It's good to know that it's still against the law for gangbangers in Denver to carry heat. I was afraid they'd be able to take them out in public for a while there.
June 27, 2008
9:25 a.m.
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Outlaw writes:
I would like to know why the STATE has not sued Denver for passing gun control laws more restictive than STATE laws??? A couple of years ago the STATE passed such a law to make gun laws uniform across this state, but Denver thumbed thier noses at the STATE and the STATE did nothing to pursue it.
June 27, 2008
9:28 a.m.
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dustinsharp writes:
OK RMN...again you guys did not get this right....
In the city: major provisions
Guns may not be carried except for:
* Holders of concealed-carry permits. - True
* Hunters carrying a gun in a vehicle. - Kinda True - Not only hunters are allowed to carry in a vehicle - ANYONE THAT CAN LAWFULLY OWN A PISTOL MAY KEEP A PISTOL CONCEALED IN A VEHICLE WITHOUT A PERMIT - Per state law - 18-12-204. Permit contents - validity - carrying requirements.
(3) (a) A person who may lawfully possess a handgun may carry a handgun under the following circumstances without obtaining a permit and the handgun shall not be considered concealed:
(I) The handgun is in the possession of a person who is in a private automobile or in some other private means of conveyance and who carries the handgun for a legal use, including self-defense
The above law includes THE ALMIGHTY CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER - per the 2004 Meyers Decision. *NOTE* RIFLES AND SHOTGUNS MUST BE UNLOADED, BUT NOT PISTOLS OR HANDGUNS.
* Motorists who are armed "for lawful protection" of themselves, another person or property while traveling. - True, but see above...you do not have to be traveling through the city (you can go to denver and back from denver or originate in denver) and can stop in Denver an unlimited amount of times in the process of carrying a loaded concealed pistol without a permit.
A person may defend against a charge of illegally carrying a gun by showing he or she: - All below are true...but add to that the above carry in a vehicle provision - and legal transfer from the home to the vehicle...
* Was defending his or her home.
* Is a member of the armed forces.
* Was on the way to a sporting event where guns are legal (guns must be unloaded).
* Is a collector or licensed dealer (guns must be unloaded).
* Was aiding "the civil power when thereto legally summoned."
Other provisions
* Guns may not be sold to intoxicated people or minors.
* Semiautomatic weapons are banned in most cases. - NOT TRUE! ALMOST ALL SEMI-AUTOMATIC WEAPONS ARE NOT BANNED. ONLY RIFLES WITH MAGAZINES CAPACITIES LARGER THAN 20 (21) ARE ILLEGAL. ALSO, SEMI-AUTO SHOTGUNS CANNOT EXCEED 6 ROUNDS. - Most semi auto weapons fall under this capacity limit because of the old Federal "assault weapons" ban was stricter and most manufactured weapons have capacities less than the City of Denver require.
I carry a loaded semi-automatic pistol concealed in my vehicle when traveling anywhere in the state (including Denver) and am in total compliance with state and local laws.
June 27, 2008
9:45 a.m.
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dustinsharp writes:
EDIT
* Motorists who are armed "for lawful protection" of themselves, another person or property while traveling. - True, but see above...you do not have to be traveling through the city (you can go to denver and back from denver or originate in denver) and can stop in Denver an unlimited amount of times in the process of carrying a loaded concealed pistol without a permit. IN THE VEHICLE - YOU MUST HAVE A CONCEALED PERMIT TO TAKE IT OUT OF YOUR VEHICLE, UNLESS USED TO DEFEND YOURSELF.
June 27, 2008
10:41 a.m.
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CalebTGL writes:
I was impressed with this story as compared to the poorly written one in the Post this morning until I got to the last bullet point. Sloppy.
June 27, 2008
11:13 a.m.
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buffsblg writes:
Outlaw, the city was sued on their gun laws and the Courts upheld most of them on Home rule city grounds.
June 27, 2008
5:08 p.m.
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usa2 writes:
For all those that wished that the Supreme Court turned AGAINST the Constitution for our "Right to Bear Arms", put yourself in this scenario....You are asleep in the comfort of your home when you hear a breakage of glass or the tremendous bang of which you realize that was your front door being kicked in by an #$()#$ and friends that want to take your possession's or more...Because you DO NOT believe in guns for citizen's, you only have your alarm clock beside you to defend yourself as you see the figure of the felon in your bedroom doorway......ps..kid's in the next bedroom..WHAT NOW???? Pray and kiss your .....that they won't do physical harm to you or your family! Oh yeah..you would respond that you would have that ole trusty baseball bat by your bed to protect you....providing you could get to it and lift it in the air and swing with all your might...and maybe get ONE of them...?? Oh...there's his buddy... Me, all I have to do is wiggle my index finger. And I can also save a couple of rounds for the buddy in the next room if need be. Glad to say that they upheld the Constitution of the United States. Another note: I understand that Clinton (since she didn't win the primary, thank GOD!) that now she is viewing herself as the next Supreme Court Justice so that she can live up to her statement that she "Would pull the guns of American's if Marshall Law was enacted). And you worry about Bush??!?!?!!?!??
June 27, 2008
7:20 p.m.
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usa2 writes:
I should also write here that I HOPE I NEVER have to experience this scenerio myself, yet if I do, I have a way of defending myself and have a chance of living through it. I am also well aware that those that burglarize homes and other such acts DO CARRY FIREARMS ILLEGALLY as they know that the act that they are about to commit can be dangerous to them as well ie: armed homeowner!
June 27, 2008
7:25 p.m.
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JCS1958 writes:
usa2:
I am delighted that the A2 was upheld. I carry in my car, and I am in the process of getting a CCW permit. But the likelyhood of a hot burglary (armed burglars in an occupied house) is EXTREMELY small unless you are a drug dealer or gang banger. One reason it is so small is the very fact that so many Americans are armed and in Colorado anyway, not required to ask questions before shooting.