Denver’s assault weapons ban, in force since 1989 under Section 38-130 of the Denver Municipal Code, makes it a crime to possess, sell, manufacture, or transfer certain semi-automatic firearms and higher-capacity magazines anywhere inside city limits. The rule applies to residents and visitors alike, carries up to $999 in fines and 180 days in jail per violation, and results in the weapon being confiscated and destroyed. A federal lawsuit challenging the ordinance is pending, but the ban remains fully enforceable until a court orders otherwise.
What Counts as a Banned Weapon
The ordinance works off features, not just names. A semi-automatic centerfire rifle or semi-automatic pistol with a fixed or detachable magazine falls under the ban if it also has any of the following: a folding or telescoping stock, a pistol grip that protrudes below the action, a flash suppressor, or a threaded barrel designed to accept one. Semi-automatic shotguns are covered when they have a folding stock or a magazine holding more than six rounds. Revolving-cylinder shotguns like the Street Sweeper and Striker 12 are banned outright.
Specific models are named in the ordinance, including the AR-15 series, AK-47 series, and TEC-9. The law also reaches any firearm that is a functional copy or variation of a listed design, regardless of manufacturer or branding. This copycat provision is where most of the trouble sits. Swapping the receiver marking or buying from a smaller maker doesn’t help if the gun operates the same way and carries the same prohibited features.
The Rimfire Carve-Out
One point that trips people up: the ban applies only to centerfire firearms. A .22 rimfire semi-automatic is categorically outside the definition, even with a pistol grip, detachable magazine, and folding stock. Several popular sporting rifles use rimfire cartridges and would otherwise look like banned guns on sight.
What You Can’t Do With One
Possession alone is enough to violate the ordinance. So are selling, offering for sale, manufacturing, and transferring. The restriction is not limited to commercial activity. A private sale between friends, a display at a gun show inside the city, or simply keeping a banned rifle in your home all count. Your reason for having the weapon doesn’t matter.
Denver police can seize a prohibited firearm during any lawful encounter, including a traffic stop. Seized weapons are destroyed. There is no process to get one back.
Driving Through Denver With a Firearm You Legally Own
Plenty of Coloradans legally own firearms that Denver bans and occasionally need to pass through the city. The ordinance addresses this through an affirmative defense, meaning the burden is on you to establish that you qualify if you’re stopped. A nonresident in legal possession of an assault weapon who is simply passing through can raise the defense, but the weapon must be unloaded.
The ordinance recognizes several other transport purposes: travel to a hunting trip, a legitimate sporting event like target or skeet shooting, a trip to a repair shop, or moving personal property between residences. The unloaded requirement applies across the board. A loaded rifle in the back seat on a drive across town does not fit any of these categories.
Magazines Over 15 Rounds
Denver also bans magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds. A 2017 amendment aligned the city’s limit with Colorado’s statewide cap, which has been in place since 2013. The rule covers fixed and detachable magazines, drums, and feed strips, along with any device readily converted to hold more than 15. Law enforcement looks at the device’s capacity, not how many rounds are currently loaded. Retailers inside Denver cannot stock or sell them.
Who Is Exempt
The ordinance exempts law enforcement officers performing authorized duties and members of the armed forces and National Guard acting under official orders. These exemptions apply while the person is engaged in the official function, not when they’re off duty.
A grandfather clause for pre-1989 ownership is often mentioned in secondary summaries of the ordinance, but it isn’t clearly confirmed in the primary ordinance text. Anyone planning to rely on grandfathered status should talk to a Colorado firearms attorney before assuming they’re protected, and should expect to need documentation of pre-1989 ownership if the provision does exist.
Penalties
Violation is a municipal offense. The maximum fine is $999 per violation, and a court can impose up to 180 days in jail. The firearm is confiscated and destroyed. A conviction creates a criminal record that can affect future firearm purchases, employment background checks, and professional licensing.
One technical point matters for anyone worried about losing their broader gun rights. Because the maximum jail term is 180 days rather than more than one year, a Denver assault weapon conviction standing alone does not trigger the federal firearms disability under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), which applies to crimes punishable by more than a year of imprisonment. That protection disappears if the same conduct also violates a state or federal statute carrying a longer sentence.
Is the Ban Still Being Enforced?
Yes. The U.S. Department of Justice sued Denver over the ordinance after the city refused DOJ demands to stop enforcement and enter a consent decree permanently blocking the ban. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said “Denver’s ban on commonly owned semi-automatic rifles directly violates the right to bear arms.”1United States Department of Justice. Justice Department Sues the City of Denver for Unconstitutional Weapons Bans Denver’s city attorney called the demand “baseless, irresponsible, and a clear overreach of the federal government’s power.”
No federal court has issued a preliminary injunction or ruling in the case. The ordinance remains in effect, and Denver police continue to enforce it. Treat it as fully active law unless and until a court says otherwise.2Library of Congress. Supreme Court Declines Review of Decision Upholding Assault Weapons Restrictions