Colorado House Passes New Gun Control Laws

The Colorado House of Representatives passed new strict gun control measures in the form of four bills. They were passed in the state hit by two of the most notorious mass shootings in US history.

The bills were approved by a recorded vote over a third reading on Monday, according to Dean Toda, a spokesman for the House Democrats.

Toda added that no Republican supported the bills. Reuters reports that Representative Rhonda Fields spoke to the House about the need for gun control.

Fields lost a son to gun violence. Her district also includes Aurora, where a gunman killed 12 people and injured 58 more last July. She stated:

“We can no longer walk around in our society with these blinders on as if nothing is happening.”

KDVR notes that one bill will ban high-capacity magazines of at least 15 rounds. Also included are universal background checks. House Speaker Mark Ferrandino (D-Denver) praised the bills, saying:

“This is common-sense legislation that will take guns out of the hands of felons and will increase public safety.”

House Republican leader Mark Waller was very critical of the bills during debate last week. He called them a “knee-jerk” reaction to the massacres in Connecticut and Aurora.

Along with the Aurora theater shooting last July, Colorado also saw the Columbine High School shooting in Littleton in 1999. Two students killed a teacher and 12 fellow students before they committed suicide.

Since the Newtown, Connecticut school shootings the gun debate has raged across the United States with several states considering new gun control bills. Similar bills are also in the works in the US House and Senate. Republicans have largely opposed new gun control legislation, while Democrats have generally supported it.

Do you think we should pass laws like the gun control legislation in Colorado, which requires universal background checks and limits high-capacity magazines?

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