The Jimmy Carter appointee issued another setback for citizens who have made multiple attempts to roll back the Colorado restriction.
It came in the case brought by Rocky Mountain Gun Owners (RMGO) and firearms instructor Alicia Garcia.
Kane wrote that the Constitution did not cover firearm sales. “After examining the language of the Second Amendment using the Supreme Court’s analysis in Heller, I find, for the purposes of Plaintiff’s Motion, that the plain text does not cover the waiting period required by the Act.”
The result is that Coloradans who pass an immediate background check are still forced to wait to exercise a constitutional right.
The plaintiffs said they intend to appeal the decision.
RMGO termed the legal setback a “bump in the road” and urged gun rights advocates in the state to keep the “faith.” Executive Director Taylor Rhodes said the organization still has the opportunity for a preliminary injunction through the Tenth Circuit. A favorable ruling for the group came from a circuit panel earlier in 2023.
Rhodes added, “That’s why I have instructed RMGO’s attorneys to immediately appeal this decision and take it to a higher court.”
Kane explained his conclusion through the 2008 Heller ruling. He wrote that the right to keep and bear arms is a “guarantee [of] the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation.”
In his belief, this does not include a right to obtain these weapons.
If the ruling stands, it is certain that anti-gun forces will attempt to use it as a bludgeon to further erode gun rights. The case bears close watching as it goes into appeal.
