DENVER (CN) — Arguing that the right to build a gun is as important as the right to own one, Second Amendment groups fired off a federal lawsuit on Monday against Colorado Governor Jared Polis, aiming to block a new ban against unserialized homemade firearms.
"Plaintiffs’ proposed conduct of privately manufacturing firearms, including handguns, is covered by the plain text of the Second Amendment, because the right to keep and bear arms implies a right to manufacture arms,” the two Colorado-based “no compromise” gun rights organizations and their members argued in a 10-page complaint.
The ban, which took effect Monday, prohibits anyone without a license from making firearms or parts and establishes a process for putting serial numbers on frames and receivers.
Pro-gun control groups supported the legislation.
“Since 2017, the recovery of ghost guns at crime scenes has risen over 1000%. Youth and other prohibited persons are obtaining these weapons to circumvent background checks,” said Eileen McCarron, president of the gun violence prevention group Colorado Ceasefire.
“Persons who engage in marketing unserialized firearms and those who seek to protect that enterprise are accommodating violent criminal activity, including the murder of their fellow citizens.”
Named and anonymous plaintiffs belonging to the National Association for Gun Rights and Rocky Mountain Gun Owners say they want to protect their ability to build handguns from kits largely purchased from the firearms company Polymer80.
Handguns, the groups argue, are primarily used for self-defense, and thus are protected by the Second Amendment.
Studying to pass the Bruen test — which instructs courts to weigh gun restrictions against the historical record — the lawsuit contends the practice of building homemade firearms has never been regulated by the federal government, and that the act predates the founding of the country.
"The tradition of at-home gun-making predates this nation’s founding, extends through the revolution, and reaches modern times,” the plaintiffs argue in the complaint.
In a similar case, VanDerStok v. Garland, the Fifth Circuit struck down the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms’ ability to regulate ghost guns. VanDerStok is now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Last year, Rocky Mountain Gun Owners successfully challenged the state’s move to raise the age to purchase a gun to 21 years old, but failed to defeat a 48-hour waiting period between purchasing and obtaining a firearm. Both decisions are awaiting review by the 10th Circuit.
The plaintiffs are represented by Wheat Ridge attorney Barry Arrington, who did not immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. Polis’ office declined to comment on the pending litigation.
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