Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: DOJ Lawsuit

Gaines: Why the Rodney King-era law fits Colorado’s gun fight
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Gaines: Why the Rodney King-era law fits Colorado’s gun fight

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project The DOJ using the Civil Rights Division to sue Colorado and Denver over its magazine ban.  The Rocky Mountain Voice article at bottom details how the Department of Justice is using its Civil Rights Division, along with a novel use of a civil rights law passed back during the Rodney King Era to sue Colorado and Denver over their magazine ban and “assault weapons” ban, respectively. A quote from the piece fleshes this out some:“The law driving both lawsuits came out of the aftermath of Rodney King. Congress passed §12601 in 1994 after Los Angeles erupted in riots, giving the federal government authority to intervene when police departments repeatedly violated constitutional rights. DOJ has used the law fewer than ...
‘If this bill passes, we’re moving’: How a Colorado veteran became a political voice online
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

‘If this bill passes, we’re moving’: How a Colorado veteran became a political voice online

By RMV Staff | Rocky Mountain Voice A Colorado Springs defense worker who never wanted to be in politics now says the only place left to win back gun rights in this state is a federal courtroom — and that the window is open right now. Nicholas, the veteran behind the YouTube channels Big Timber Lodge and Big Timber Armory, told Heidi Ganahl on the latest episode of Unleashed that he spent more than a year building legal packages for the U.S. Department of Justice, asking it to sue Colorado over its firearm laws. In early May, the DOJ filed suit. Colorado’s gun restrictions moved faster than gun owners could fight them in state court, where judges are appointed under Democrat governors. Now the Trump administration’s Justice Department, not a Colorado plaintiff, is suing the st...
A Rodney King-era civil rights law drives the federal lawsuit over Colorado’s magazine ban
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

A Rodney King-era civil rights law drives the federal lawsuit over Colorado’s magazine ban

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado's magazine ban has been challenged before. The surprise this time is not the Second Amendment argument. It is the DOJ’s decision to use a federal civil-rights law traditionally aimed at police misconduct investigations to make it. On May 5, federal attorneys filed against Denver over its assault-weapons ban. The next morning, they were back in court with another complaint—this one against the state, over the 15-round magazine limit. The law driving both lawsuits came out of the aftermath of Rodney King. Congress passed §12601 in 1994 after Los Angeles erupted in riots, giving the federal government authority to intervene when police departments repeatedly violated constitutional rights. DOJ has used the law fewer than 100 times in t...