Colorado and Denver insist peaceable visitors can carry firearms for self-defense—as long as nobody looks at how their laws work. FPC exposes the defendants’ constitutional shell game.

DENVER, CO (November 12, 2026) — Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) announced today that Colorado and Denver officials have filed responses opposing FPC’s motion for a preliminary injunction in Gene Hoffman v. City and County of Denver, defending a scheme of overlapping state and local restrictions that effectively prohibits peaceable visitors from carrying firearms for self-defense.

In their November 11 filings, the defendants attempt to defend their unconstitutional carry restrictions by pointing fingers at each other and asking the court to ignore the combined effect of their laws. Colorado argues that its laws permit open carry, conveniently ignoring Denver’s prohibition on open carry. Denver, meanwhile, claims that FPC member and plaintiff Gene Hoffman’s non-Colorado carry permits authorize him to carry concealed, even though Colorado refuses to recognize those permits for a California resident.

Denver also points to an exception for people with “valid authorization from the city,” supported by a declaration from its police chief stating that he would have considered a request from Hoffman. But the possibility of receiving special permission from city officials is not a substitute for the constitutionally protected right to bear arms. Nor does an exception for transporting a handgun in a vehicle restore the ability to carry for self-defense while going about ordinary daily life.

“Colorado and Denver want everyone to ignore what their laws actually do. Colorado points to open carry, knowing Denver bans it. Denver points to concealed carry, knowing Colorado won’t recognize the permits held by peaceable visitors. Their entire defense amounts to ‘Pay no attention to the gun ban behind the curtain,‘” said FPC President Brandon Combs. “But this isn’t Oz, and the Constitution isn’t an illusion. The Supreme Court has already made clear that peaceable Americans have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense. Our victory against California’s nonresident carry ban proved that fundamental rights don’t stop at state lines. So Colorado and Denver can keep pointing fingers and making excuses, but they cannot hide their unconstitutional gun-control scheme from the courts or the People. FPC and our Grassroots Army will continue to Fight Forward until these immoral and unconstitutional restrictions are eliminated nationwide.”

The defendants’ arguments attempt to evade the central holding of the Supreme Court’s decision in N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen: peaceable Americans have a constitutionally protected right to carry handguns publicly for self-defense. Although governments may regulate the manner of carry, they cannot combine restrictions to eliminate all meaningful options for exercising that right.

Nor can Colorado and Denver avoid their constitutional burden by pretending their respective laws operate in isolation. Under Bruen, once the Second Amendment’s plain text covers the conduct at issue, the government must justify its restrictions by demonstrating that they are consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. FPC maintains that the defendants have identified no historical tradition supporting the effective disarmament of otherwise-qualified Americans simply because they reside in another state.

Colorado’s reliance on the Tenth Circuit’s pre-Bruen decision in Peterson v. Martinez is also misplaced. That decision expressly recognized that plaintiffs could challenge both Colorado’s permitting restrictions and Denver’s open-carry ordinance together—precisely the challenge FPC brings here.

And FPC has already defeated this kind of residency-based exclusion. In July 2025, FPC secured a summary-judgment victory in Chris Hoffman v. Bonta, a lawsuit that challenged California’s ban on nonresident carry. Applying Bruen, the federal court concluded that California failed to identify a historical tradition supporting its categorical residency restriction and held that the prohibition violated the Second Amendment.

FPC’s Colorado lawsuit is part of its nationwide campaign to eliminate unconstitutional restrictions that deny the People’s right to carry based on where they live. FPC is seeking preliminary relief protecting Hoffman and similarly situated FPC members from the combined effects of Colorado’s licensing restrictions and Denver’s public-carry ban.

FPC is represented by David H. Thompson, Peter A. Patterson, William V. Bergstrom, and Riley W. Walters of Cooper & Kirk, PLLC.

FPC thanks its Grassroots Army members and supporters for making its litigation, research, and other programs possible. Individuals who want to join FPC and support its work to restore liberty throughout the United States can join the FPC Grassroots Army at JoinFPC.org.

Contact: [email protected]

About Firearms Policy Coalition

Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) is a nonprofit membership organization that exists to create a world of maximal individual liberty and eliminate unconstitutional gun control laws. FPC works—and wins—for the People through high-impact strategic litigation, groundbreaking research, legislative and regulatory advocacy, grassroots activism, education, and public engagement. FPC’s legal division, FPC Law, is the nation’s leading initiative dedicated to restoring the right to keep and bear arms across the United States. To learn more about how FPC is working—and winning—for the People, sign up for FPC news alerts at firearmspolicy.org and follow FPC on X, Instagram, and Facebook.