Judge denies preliminary injunction to block gun control law
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An Obama-appointed judge has denied a motion for a preliminary injunction by a decorated war veteran suing Colorado over a gun control law that took effect in August.
Israel Del Toro, a 22-year Air Force veteran who survived an improvised explosive device blast in Afghanistan, is suing Governor Jared Polis for signing Senate Bill 25-003 into law. He joined six other plaintiffs who claim their rights have been violated with the enactment of this bill.
The Center Square reached out to Polis, a Democrat who’s termed-out in January, but his office declined to comment. The Center Square also contacted state Senator Tom Sullivan, D-Centennial, who drafted the bill, for comment, but he did not respond in time for publication.
The bill, titled “Semiautomatic Firearms & Rapid-Fire Devices,” was signed into law in April 2025. Since it took effect, it received major pushback from gun rights advocates across the country, including criticism from sheriffs across Colorado.
Colorado legislators debated an update to the state’s gun control law in January 2026, ahead of the measure’s rollout.
The bill prohibits the manufacture, sale, distribution, transfer or purchase, of guns categorized as “specified semiautomatic firearms” and allows the state’s Department of Revenue’s Firearms Dealers Division to have complete authority over the categorization of prohibited guns and firearm accessories.
On Wednesday, Judge William J. Martínez, who was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2010, denied Del Toro’s motion for a preliminary injunction that was aimed at temporarily halting the bill’s implementation, namely the categorization of certain firearms and the permit-to-purchase requirements for such semiautomatic firearms.
Martínez wrote in his conclusion that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate that the bill violated their Second Amendment rights. However, the denial of this motion does not indefinitely conclude that SB 26-003 is constitutional
The plaintiffs also argued that the licensing process involved excessive costs, delays and unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles. The bill requires one of two classes to be taken – a four-hour training for individuals who have already completed the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW)-certified Hunter Education Course, and a 12-hour one for individuals who have not. It also requires a purchaser to apply for a Firearms Safety Course Eligibility Card.
The judge wrote that “Ultimately, Plaintiffs have not met their burden to show that SB25-003’s PTP scheme was put towards ‘abusive ends’ such that it infringes the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.”
More strikingly, Martínez ruled that the plaintiffs had not demonstrated the irreparable injury necessary for an injunction. Because the plaintiffs failed to establish a substantial likelihood of success on their Second Amendment claim, the court concluded that they had also failed to demonstrate that enforcement of the law would cause irreparable harm.
Del Toro sued the state because he relies on a force-reset trigger – a firearm accessory – which is classified as a certain rapid-fire device and is prohibited in the bill’s statute. He argues that this prohibition violates his constitutionally-protected Second Amendment rights.
The decorated veteran was the first to re-enlist as an airman in the U.S. Air Force after being deemed fully disabled due to his injuries sustained in Afghanistan. He suffered burns over 80% of his body, lost one hand and most of his fingers on his other hand. Because of this, he relies on certain firearm accessories when exercising his Second Amendment rights.
Huey Laugesen, executive director for Colorado’s National Rifle Association chapter – the Colorado State Shooting Association – told The Center Square, “The court’s rationale for this decision is simply insane. The idea that the most commonly owned firearms in America fail to qualify as arms under the Second Amendment is extraordinary.”
“We believe this law is unconstitutional, and will keep fighting until Coloradans’ Second Amendment rights are restored,” he added.
Del Toro, alongside the other plaintiffs, are being represented by Mountain States Legal Foundation, a nonprofit, conservative, public interest law firm based in Colorado. They were recently joined by the NRA’s litigation team as co-counsel in August.
Sheriffs across the state have also come out in opposition of the law. El Paso County Sheriff Joseph Roybal wrote in a statement following the Legislature’s passage of the bill that he has “concerns about the bill’s constitutionality and its potential harm to small business owners and the safety of law-abiding citizens.”
Custer County Sheriff Lloyd Smith also wrote in a social media post following the implementation of the bill in August that “This is not commonsense public safety. It is a burdensome system designed to make the lawful exercise of a Constitutional right more expensive, more time-consuming, and more difficult.”
In August, The Center Square reached out to Travis Duncan, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife public information manager, to check on the status of the implementation of the bill after concerns were raised that counties did not have adequate procedures in place to enforce the measure. He was unable to provide a definitive answer regarding each county’s readiness for the bill’s application, even though the office is in charge of coordinating with county sheriffs to make sure their systems were ready for the implementation.
