DOJ sues Denver over ban on ‘assault weapons’

The Justice Department announced Tuesday that it has filed a lawsuit against the city of Denver, Colorado, "alleging that the City unconstitutionally bans certain constitutionally protected semi-automatic rifles."

"These laws unconstitutionally infringe on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms in common use for lawful purposes," according to the Justice Department.

"The Constitution is not a suggestion and the Second Amendment is not a second-class right," Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. "Denver's ban on commonly owned semi-automatic rifles directly violates the right to bear arms. This Department of Justice will vigorously defend the liberties of law-abiding citizens nationwide."

The 12-page lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado names the City and County of Denver, Colorado, and the Denver Police Department as defendants. The DOJ said, "As the complaint explains, the City enforces an ordinance that makes it a crime to possess so-called ‘assault weapons.’"

"But the City’s ban includes AR-15-style rifles, which are the most popular rifles in America. Law-abiding Americans own tens of millions of rifles like those banned by the City," the DOJ added.

"I have directed the Civil Rights Division, through our new Second Amendment Section, to defend law-abiding Americans from restrictions such as those we are challenging in these cases," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "Law-abiding Americans, regardless of what city or state they reside in, should not have to live under threat of criminal sanction just for exercising their Second Amendment right to possess arms which are owned by tens of millions of their fellow citizens."

"In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court, in its landmark decision District of Columbia v. Heller, held that the Second Amendment protects the right of law-abiding citizens to possess weapons that are in common use for lawful purposes," the Justice Department said.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.