The National Gun Rights Association sued to block a Colorado law banning the possession and manufacturing of homemade firearms — a long standing American tradition.
In 2023, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed SB23-279 into law, which effectively bans the practice of building and manufacturing homemade firearms without a serial number.
NAGR joined Colorado residents who bought unserialized parts from Polymer 80 and sued the state on January 15, 2024, challenging the law requiring registration of homemade guns and parts.
Biden-appointed U.S. District Judge Gordon Gallagher denied an injunction on May 2, 2024, finding the plaintiffs lacked standing and the matter wasn’t ripe for suit. NAGR appealed, asking that the law be analyzed under the legal tests set in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, which instructs courts to weigh modern gun restrictions against the historical record.
On January 22, 2025, NAGR’s legal team ascended upon the 10th Circuit to begin oral arguments on reviving the case.
Attorney on behalf of NAGR, Barry Arrington, argued:
“The district court should have held the manufacturing ban is unconstitutional on its face because that has roots dating back to before the revolution. At the very least, the district court’s interpretation can’t stand. That is in clear error, and I think the court has enough before them to find the statute on its face is unconstitutional.”
Solicitor General Shannon Stevenson argued the homemade firearm ban falls into a “century-old tradition of serializing firearms:”
“We’re talking about unprecedented and dramatic technological change. There Bruen says we need to have some nuance, and Rahimi says we’re not trapped in amber when it comes to regulating firearms.”
The court did not indicate when or how it would decide the case.
Read more at Courthouse News.
