FPC: Colorado and Denver Each Blame the Other for a Total Carry Ban

The Firearms Policy Coalition says Colorado and Denver are each hiding behind the other's gun laws to defend carry restrictions that, combined, leave peaceable people with no lawful way to carry a firearm in the city.

Snapshot

Bearing Arms reports on FPC's November 11 court filings in its ongoing challenge to Colorado and Denver carry laws. Colorado points to its open carry allowance while Denver bans open carry outright, and Denver claims plaintiff Gene Hoffman's out-of-state concealed carry permits suffice even though Colorado won't recognize them for a California resident.

Key points

• The core complaint: FPC member Gene Hoffman reportedly cannot lawfully carry in Denver under either state or city law, despite each government pointing to the other's rules as supposed cover.
• Denver's open carry ban: Colorado allows unlicensed open carry statewide, but Denver prohibits it within city limits, according to the filings.
• Concealed carry dead end: Denver argues Hoffman's non-Colorado permits authorize concealed carry, but Colorado doesn't recognize those permits for a California resident, FPC says.
• The "special permission" argument: Denver cites an exception for people with city authorization, backed by a police chief's declaration he'd have considered Hoffman's request — which FPC President Brandon Combs calls no substitute for a constitutional right.
• FPC's framing: Combs compared the defense to the "man behind the curtain," arguing the two governments' laws combine into what amounts to an unconstitutional gun ban, per Bearing Arms.

Quick take

Bearing Arms' Tom Knighton argues Denver's position is the weaker one, since turning its own permit exception into a defense ignores that state law trumps local ordinances. Whether courts buy the "Wizard of Oz" framing remains to be seen, but the piece makes clear this is a case worth watching for anyone carrying in Colorado's biggest city.

Read the full story: bearingarms.com