LOVELAND, CO – This morning, an attorney for Rocky Mountain Gun Owners (RMGO) and the National Foundation for Gun Rights (NFGR) presented oral arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, challenging Colorado Senate Bill 23-279. The controversial law criminalizes so-called “ghost guns” and bans firearm components that lack a serial number.
Hannah Hill, Vice President of NFGR, did not mince words in condemning the legislation. “Colorado’s homemade firearm ban is an unconstitutional overreach aimed at hobbyists and peaceable gun owners. The right to keep and bear arms inherently includes the right to manufacture them privately–if it didn’t, we would all have a British accent. This tradition predates the founding of our nation. Forcing citizens to serialize privately made firearms is not only an affront to our Second Amendment rights but also a direct attack on personal liberty and privacy as American citizens,” Hill said.
This appeal follows U.S. District Court Judge Gordon Gallagher’s May 2024 decision denying the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction. Gallagher ruled the law merely imposes “a condition on the commercial sale of a firearm” and did not infringe on Second Amendment rights—a position RMGO and NFGR emphatically reject.
Ian Escalante, Executive Director of RMGO, called the law a thinly veiled assault on constitutional freedoms. “This is tyranny masquerading as public safety,” Escalante said. “Politicians like Rhonda Fields are using the “ghost gun” issue to advance their anti-gun agenda, but they can’t erase the historical reality: private gun-making has been a part of American life since before 1776. We will not allow bureaucrats to rewrite history or the Constitution to fit their narrative.”
The case underscores the growing battle between pro-gun advocates and overreaching lawmakers who are determined to undermine the Second Amendment despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen. The historic Bruen ruling reaffirmed that the government bears the burden of proving any firearm regulation aligns with the historical tradition of gun laws in America—a standard that Colorado’s homemade firearm ban fails to meet.
Hill added, “Our Founding Fathers didn’t fight a revolution so future generations could be forced to ask permission from the government to build a firearm. This law is not about safety—it’s about control.”
“The government is trying to sidestep the Bruen precedent by pretending this ban doesn’t trigger Second Amendment protections. They’re wrong, and we’re here to prove it,” Escalante stated.
The 10th Circuit’s ruling is expected later this year, but both RMGO and NFGR are prepared to take this fight to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.
The National Foundation for Gun Rights is an independent 501(c)(3), which serves as the legal arm of the National Association for Gun Rights. Its mission is to defend and advance the Second Amendment through strategic litigation, protecting the rights of law-abiding gun owners across the nation.
Rocky Mountain Gun Owners is a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization headquartered in Littleton, Colorado, with a mission to hold politicians accountable and achieve maximum liberty for individuals to defend themselves, their family, and their property without having to ask the government for permission to do so. Since its founding in 1996, RMGO has led the fight against anti-gun politicians with the support of more than 200,000 members and grassroots activists statewide.
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