Colorado sheriffs planning lawsuit to block new gun laws

More than half of Colorado sheriffs have agreed to launch a legal challenge to the state's recently passed gun restrictions. Thirty-seven of the state's 62 elected sheriffs are prepared to sue to overturn laws that now prohibit the sale of ammunition magazines holding more than 15 rounds and require background checks for all private gun sales, Weld County Sheriff John Cooke said Tuesday. Cooke said he expects more sheriffs will sign on to the lawsuit, but other sheriffs said they oppose the effort. The proposed lawsuit would say the law violates the Constitution's Second Amendment right to bear arms and the 14th Amendment, which bars states from abridging the "privileges and immunities" of citizens, Cooke said. The lawsuit would be handled by lawyer Dave Kopel, research director of the Independence Institute, a conservative think-tank, and adjunct Professor of Advanced Constitutional Law at the University of Denver's Sturm College of Law, Cooke said...more