Gun rights advocacy group Rocky Mountain Gun Owners has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Colorado’s recently enacted ban on unregulated firearms, also known as “ghost guns”. The lawsuit argues the ban, which went into effect on January 1 as Senate Bill 23-279, constitutes a violation of Second Amendment rights. 

Ghost guns are unserialized and untraceable firearms that are often purchased online and assembled at home. No background check is required, meaning anyone can purchase them. 

“This law is an outright assault on the constitutional rights of peaceable Coloradans.” said RMGO Executive Director Taylor D. Rhodes. “It’s not just an overreach; it’s a direct defiance to our Second Amendment freedoms.”

The lawsuit references the Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen; in the landmark 2022 case, the Court ruled that New York’s law requiring a license to carry concealed weapons in public is unconstitutional. 

“In the Bruen decision, the Supreme Court made it clear that any law infringing on the right to bear arms must align with the historical understanding of the Second Amendment.” Said Rhodes. “Senate Bill 23-279 clearly does not meet this standard. If homemade – unserialized – guns weren’t legal at the time of our nation’s founding, we would all have a British accent.” 

Proponents of the ban argue it has the potential to decrease gun violence, especially among young people. 

Rocky Mountain Gun Owners is a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization headquartered in Littleton.