Rocky Mountain Gun Owners on Sunday filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the state of Colorado over a law establishing a three-day waiting period to purchase a firearm.

The lawsuit is the second attempt by the group to block the law. They filed a lawsuit last April, seeking to block HB23-1219 after Gov. Jared Polis signed it into law on April 28.  That lawsuit was dismissed in August for lack of standing, that the law had not yet gone into effect.

That changed on Oct. 1, the law’s official first day.

The gun rights group’s lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order against the state, along with an injunction barring the state from enforcing the law, alleging the measure is a violation of the Second Amendment.

The court filing noted a co-plaintiff, Alicia Garcia, attempted to purchase a firearm on Sunday and was told she would have to wait three days to claim it.

The filing said Garcia is employed in the firearms industry and “purchases firearms frequently.”

“Accordingly, even if she receives delivery of her firearm described above while this action is pending, this matter will not be moot,” the filing continued. “She will purchase another firearm in the near future and when she does so, she will be subjected to the same unconstitutional burden.”

HB 1219, which was approved by 60 of the General Assembly’s 64 Democrats, requires a three-day waiting period before someone can take possession of a newly-purchased firearm. 

Supporters say the law allows time for someone thinking of suicide to reconsider — or for friends and family members to intervene, arguing a day without a gun is another day a life is saved. Critics argue that the proposal, which they call arbitrary, would do nothing to prevent suicide while burdening individuals who legitimately need a weapon for protection.  

One significant change to the bill during its trip through the legislature was the addition of a petition clause, which would allow opponents to challenge the law through a petition to the ballot. Such a question would not appear on the ballot until 2024, although the deadline to request a petition has passed. Under state law, such a request had to be filed within 90 days of the May 8 adjournment of the General Assembly.

While almost 100 ballot questions have been submitted for review for 2024, none pertained to HB 1219.

The gun rights group is also challenging in U.S. District Court Senate Bill 169, which bars those under 21, with limited exceptions, from purchasing a firearm. The law does not prohibit someone under 21 from possessing a firearm, under those exceptions.

Both bills were part of a package of gun control measures Democrats approved during the 2023 session, which also included expansion of the extreme risk protection order law, to allow teachers and medical professionals to seek a red flag order; a ban on ghost guns, which are unserialized weapons; and a law lifting a state prohibition against allowing victims of gun violence to sue firearms manufacturers and dealers. 

What didn’t win Democratic approval: a ban on assault weapons and a bill that would allow counties to set limits on where firearms could be discharged in semi-rural areas. The former is expected to resurface at the General Assembly in the 2024 session.