The new Colorado law that generally raises the age for purchasing a firearm to age 21 had no more taken effect yesterday, than a federal judge on Monday granted the request of two Colorado residents to block the new Colorado law SB23-169, which moved the age at which to purchase firearms to 21, adding a misdemeanor offense for those who ignore the law.
At the same time U.S. District Court Chief Judge Philip A. Brimmer, in a separate lawsuit, declined to bar enforcement of another recently-enacted law establishing a three-day waiting period for gun purchases.
As they have done with previous Colorado legislative attempts to strengthen the state’s gun laws, the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners is the group that challenged the constitutionality of the new bill which took effect yesterday, Aug. 7. The bill created a two-tier misdemeanor offense: both for federally-licensed firearms dealers to sell guns to people younger than 21, as well as for those under 21 to purchase a gun.
Two Colorado residents who were between the ages of 18 and 21, Tate Mosgrove and Adrian S. Pineda, also joined the litigation first filed by the gun-rights group.
“The court agrees with the individual plaintiffs that the Second Amendment includes the right to acquire firearms and, therefore, protects the individual plaintiffs’ proposed conduct,” wrote Brimmer in an order granting the preliminary injunction.
The age question regarding 21 is what is in contention. The bill already exempted those in the military or law enforcement.
According to Everytown for Gun Safety, firearms are the leading cause of death for young people in the U.S. ages 18 to 20, and the firearm suicide rate among this group has increased a staggering 61 percent in the last decade.
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