The Denver assault weapons ban, codified at Denver Municipal Code Section 38-130, has been on the books since 1989 and makes it a municipal offense to possess, sell, manufacture, or transfer certain semi-automatic firearms and high-capacity magazines anywhere inside the city. The U.S. Department of Justice has sued to overturn the ordinance, but no court has blocked it. The ban remains fully enforceable, and Denver police can seize and destroy any firearm covered by it.
What Counts as an Assault Weapon
Denver defines an assault weapon by features, not just by name. 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 listed characteristics: 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 qualify if they have a folding stock or a magazine holding more than six rounds. Revolving-cylinder shotguns like the Street Sweeper and Striker 12 are covered outright.
The ordinance also names specific models, including the AR-15 series, the AK-47 series, and the TEC-9. Then it goes further. Any firearm that is a functional copy or variation of a listed design is banned regardless of the manufacturer or the name printed on the receiver. This copycat provision is where confusion tends to live. Rebranding a rifle or swapping a cosmetic part does not take it out of the ordinance if the operating characteristics and prohibited features remain.
Rimfire Firearms Are Not Covered
One line worth knowing: the ban applies only to centerfire firearms. Anything chambered in .22 rimfire is categorically excluded, even if it has every prohibited feature on the list. A .22 LR semi-automatic rifle with a pistol grip, detachable magazine, and folding stock is legal under the Denver ordinance.
What the Ordinance Prohibits
It is illegal to possess, sell, offer for sale, manufacture, or transfer a covered assault weapon anywhere inside Denver’s city limits. The restriction is not limited to commercial activity. A private sale between friends, a display at a gun show held in the city, or simply keeping a banned firearm at home all violate the ordinance. Your reason for having the weapon does not matter.
Denver police can seize any prohibited firearm they find during a lawful encounter, whether that’s a traffic stop, a search, or another investigation. Seized weapons are destroyed. There is no return process.
Driving Through Denver With a Legal Firearm
Colorado residents who legally own an assault weapon elsewhere in the state sometimes need to pass through Denver. The ordinance treats this as an affirmative defense, which means you carry the burden of showing you qualify if you are stopped. A nonresident in legal possession who is simply traveling through can raise the defense. The weapon must be unloaded.
The ordinance recognizes certain transport purposes: traveling to a hunting trip, going to a legitimate sporting event such as target or skeet shooting, taking a firearm to a repair shop, or moving personal property between residences. In every one of these situations the firearm must be unloaded. A loaded rifle in the back seat while you cross Denver does not fit any lawful-transport reading of the ordinance.
Magazine Capacity Limit
Denver prohibits magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds. A 2017 amendment to Section 38-130 aligned the city’s threshold with the statewide limit Colorado adopted in 2013. The rule reaches fixed and detachable magazines, drums, feed strips, and similar devices designed to accept, or be readily converted to accept, more than 15 rounds. Possession, sale, and transfer inside the city are all covered. What matters is the physical capacity of the device, not how many rounds happen to be loaded.
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 only while the person is engaged in that professional role, not off-duty personal possession.
You may see references to a grandfather clause for weapons owned before 1989. The current ordinance text does not clearly confirm such a provision. Anyone considering relying on pre-1989 ownership should talk to a Colorado firearms attorney before assuming the exemption exists.
Penalties
A violation is a municipal offense. The maximum fine is $999 per violation, and a court can impose up to 180 days in jail. The weapon is confiscated and destroyed. A conviction produces a criminal record that can surface in future firearm purchases, background checks, and professional licensing decisions.
Because the maximum jail exposure is 180 days rather than more than one year, a Denver assault weapon conviction on its own does not trigger the federal firearms disability under 18 U.S.C. ยง 922(g)(1), which reaches only crimes punishable by more than a year. If the same conduct also violates a state or federal statute carrying a longer sentence, that calculation changes.
Is the Ban Still Enforceable During the DOJ Lawsuit?
Yes. The Department of Justice has sued Denver, alleging the ban unconstitutionally restricts commonly owned semi-automatic rifles in violation of the Second Amendment. 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 The suit followed Denver’s public refusal to stop enforcement, acknowledge unconstitutionality, or enter a consent decree. The city attorney called the federal demand “baseless, irresponsible, and a clear overreach of the federal government’s power.”
The constitutional standard comes from the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which requires firearm regulations to be “consistent with this Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.” The 2024 decision in United States v. Rahimi clarified that the historical match need not be exact but must be “relevantly similar.”2Library of Congress. Supreme Court Declines Review of Decision Upholding Assault Weapons Restrictions Denver points to 37 years of enforcement and low assault weapon recovery rates. DOJ argues the covered firearms are commonly owned and therefore protected.
No federal court has issued a preliminary injunction or ruling in the case. Until one does, the ordinance operates as fully active law. Treat it that way.