Judge blocked Boulder assault weapon ban 10 days before supermarket shooting

A judge in Colorado blocked Boulder's two-year-old ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines earlier this month — less than two weeks later, 10 people were killed during a mass shooting at one of the city's supermarkets. According to the affidavit, investigators determined that the suspect, Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa,  purchased an assault rifle on March 16, 2021.

Boulder County District Court Judge Andrew Hartman ruled on March 12 that the 2018 ban, which outlawed the possession, sale or transfer of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines (LCMs), was invalid because it runs contrary to state law.  "The Court finds that the Ordinance's Assault Weapons Possession, Sale, and Transfer Ban is operationally preempted because it materially impedes the state's interest in firearms regulation, and it forbids what state law authorizes," reads Hartman's ruling. He pointed to the state legislature's declaration that firearms regulation is a state interest, in order to prevent "a patchwork of inconsistent local laws involving firearms," and to best protect Coloradans.