{"id":597511,"date":"2026-05-07T02:35:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T02:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=597511"},"modified":"2026-05-07T02:35:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T02:35:00","slug":"denver-leaders-reject-justice-departments-demand-that-city-repeal-assault-weapons-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=597511","title":{"rendered":"Denver Leaders Reject Justice Department’s Demand That City Repeal ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban"},"content":{"rendered":"

Denver Leaders Reject Justice Department’s Demand That City Repeal ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Authored by Michael Clements via The Epoch Times,<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Denver is refusing to repeal its 37-year-old ban on certain types of firearms known as \u201cassault weapons.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department\u2019s Civil Rights Division, sent a demand letter on April 28 to Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and City Attorney Miko Brown, requesting the city repeal the ordinance, which has been in place since 1989.<\/p>\n

In a May 4 response letter, Brown stated that the ordinance has withstood legal challenges, kept violent crime low, and was democratically enacted.<\/p>\n

Brown wrote that while Denver may consider various strategies to keep citizens safe, \u201cReversing a common-sense ban that has worked for 37 years and bringing assault weapons back into the City\u2019s neighborhoods is not one of them.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Johnston reiterated that sentiment in a statement released that same day.<\/p>\n

\u201cDenver\u2019s law has stood for 37 years because it works, it saves lives, and it reflects the values of our community. No demand or lawsuit from Washington is going to change that,\u201d Johnston said.<\/em><\/p>\n

The ordinance\u2014Denver Revised Municipal Code Section 38-121(c)\u2014prohibits carrying, storing, keeping, manufacturing, selling, or possessing an assault weapon.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston testifies before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Capitol Hill on March 5, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu\/The Epoch Times<\/em><\/p>\n

The ordinance defines an assault weapon as \u201cany semiautomatic pistol or centerfire rifle, either of which have a fixed or detachable magazine with a capacity of more than fifteen (15) rounds, and any semiautomatic shotgun with a folding stock or a magazine capacity of more than six (6) rounds or both.\u201d<\/p>\n

The definition includes firearms that have been modified to have these features to function as an assault weapon.<\/p>\n

Dhillon wrote that the U.S. Supreme Court held in D.C. v. Heller that the Second Amendment secures \u201cthe right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms for self-defense.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n

She goes on to state that arms in common use may not be categorically banned.<\/p>\n

Dhillon stated that the definition includes AR-15-style rifles, which are owned by \u201cliterally tens of millions\u201d of people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe city has banned an arm in common use for lawful purposes by law-abiding citizens. Therefore, the Ordinance violates the Second Amendment,\u201d<\/strong><\/em> Dhillon\u2019s letter states.<\/p>\n

Dhillon set a deadline of May 5 for the city to enter negotiations to repeal the ban. To avoid a lawsuit, the city would have to cease enforcing the ordinance, acknowledge the law is unconstitutional, and enter a consent decree to prevent enforcement of the ordinance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis ordinance has helped keep Denver safe for decades. Repealing it would put my officers and our residents at greater risk and violate our duty to protect and serve,\u201d <\/strong><\/em>Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas was quoted as saying.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nWed, 05\/06\/2026 – 22:35<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Denver Leaders Reject Justice Department’s Demand That City Repeal ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban Authored by Michael Clements via The Epoch Times, Denver is refusing to repeal its 37-year-old ban on certain types of firearms known as \u201cassault weapons.\u201d Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department\u2019s Civil Rights Division, sent a demand letter on April… Continue reading Denver Leaders Reject Justice Department’s Demand That City Repeal ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":597512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[17,22,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-597511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-border-security","category-immigration","category-immigration-reform","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=597511"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597511\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/597512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=597511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=597511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=597511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}