The Great Kazoo's Feedback
"when you're happy you enjoy the melody but, when you're broken you understand the lyrics".
So whats happening with the lawsuit filed by the 50 + Colorado Sherrifs against the State on the gun law? I know it's mentioned in another post but, wont that have some impact on inforcement of the magazine 'ban'? The State had 30 days and I haven't heard a peep.
so if a soldier is out of state or better yet out of country on business (war) for several months, he can no longer possess magazines? what if he lives in a different state now and gets transferred to colorado? not much different than my situation except i don't work for the government.
"There is no news in the truth, and no truth in the news."
"The revolution will not be televised... Instead it will be filmed from multiple angles via cell phone cameras, promptly uploaded to YouTube, Tweeted about, and then shared on Facebook, pending a Wi-Fi connection."
Well, YES you are right from a legal perspective...and NO you are not right from a practical perspective.
Please allow me to explain where I'm going with this...
The law CRS -18-12-302(2)(b) DOES say that "IF A PERSON WHO IS ALLEGED TO HAVE VIOLATED SUBSECTION (1) OF THIS SECTION ASSERTS THAT HE OR SHE IS PERMITTED TO LEGALLY POSSESS A LARGE CAPACITY MAGAZINE PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (a)OF THIS SUBSECTION (2), THE PROSECUTION HAS THE BURDEN OF PROOF TO REFUTE THE ASSERTION".
So if and when it goes to court, you are correct.
At the scene, it is not likely that the arresting officer will take kindly to your "Prove it, bud." They are NOT the prosecution and don't have to prove anything to arrest you...they just need probably cause and will let the courts decide if they arrest was valid or not.
However, by that time you've probably spent a bunch of money, MAY have been arrested, and MAY have had your weapons confiscated, as well, for "evidence". This could be similar to the practice Denver has used when finding >21 round mags prior to this goofy law. However in Denver, it has been common practice to plea bargain "You give up your mags and weapons, and we'll let you off with no charges and no need for litigation in court."
Weighing the cost of surrendering some mags and guns vs. the cost of an attorney to defend you, the former is often FAR cheaper than the latter.
On the other hand, if you can supply some sort of proof of ownership and AVOID arrest and even getting that far, you MAY be able to nip the incident in the bud and same a LOT of time and cash, as well as preventing your mags/weapons from being confiscated. (This is the practical "and NO" part I was referring to.)
The problem is that it is nearly impossible to prove ownership of a "specific" mag prior to 01JUL13. You may have a receipt for 10 mags dated 01MAY13, but have no practical way to prove the mags in your possession are the same mags listed on the receipt. The mags are not unique (i.e. they don't have a serial number on them you can match to a serial number on the receipt). You could have just as easily taken your 01MAY13 receipt with you to Wyoming, picked up 10 new mags, and claim they are the ones purchased on 01MAY13. No one can easily tell the difference between the contraband mags on the legal mags.
On the positive side, it will be just as difficult for the prosecution to prove that the mags you have ARE NOT the ones from the receipt. In fact, as you (KIDICARUS13) said, from a legal perspective, it would be up to the prosecution to prove it.
However, if it were me, I'd really try hard to prove legal ownership (even though nothing in the law says I have to) when questioned by the officer, to try and avoid arrest, confiscation of weapons, and costly litigation, from a practical perspective.
NOTE: This post is my opinion and is not to be construed as legal advice.
.
Last edited by james_bond_007; 06-26-2013 at 13:53.
__________________________________________________ ______________________________________
The fattest knight at King Arthur’s round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much π.
Yes.. but your defense and your attorney bills will kill you. My take on all of this is yes, it is up to the state to prove you are guilty but at what expense will it cost out of your pocket? I'm guessing someone will be charged, their mags and maybe even gun will be seized and charges will be filed. At that point you will contact a lawyer and the lawyer will tell you what it will cost to go to trial or what it will cost to plea to some lesser charge. At that point it will become a decision based on economics and even though you never end up at trial the gov keeps your stuff.
There was an injunction granted by the Judge based on the lawsuit, but the lawsuit is still pending. However several on here say that the Judges order, nor the AGs memo, which is specifically included in the injunction, has the weight of law. If you read the court records, you can understand what is and is not being enforced and the status. Heck even the guys on ARFcom were able to make sense of it correctly.