Colorado Supreme Court Upholds 2013 Magazine Ban

In 2013, Colorado enacted House Bill 13-1224, which made it a crime, with some exceptions, to sell, transfer, or possess any “large-capacity magazine”after July 1, 2013. A “large-capacity magazine”meant any “fixed or detachable magazine, box, drum, feed strip, or similar device capable of accepting, or that is designed to be readily converted to accept, more than fifteen rounds of ammunition.”

Several gun rights organizations challenged the ban as an infringement on the right to bear arms protected by the Colorado Constitution. They argued, among other things, that HB 1224 had an excessively broad scope because it reached lawful activities that were commonly engaged in by responsible citizens. Further, the actual effect of the “designed to be readily converted”language was to ban almost all magazines with a removable floor plate or base pad, as this inherently created the possibility that the magazine could be converted to hold more than the maximum 15 rounds.

The parties agreed that prior to the ban, the number of magazines in Colorado with a capacity greater than 15 rounds was “in the millions,”that such magazines were not unusual or uncommon in Colorado, and that semi-automatic guns with detachable magazines holding more than 15 rounds were frequently used in the state for multiple legitimate purposes, including defense of the home.