Colorado House committee approves first round of gun control measures

Colorado lawmakers continued their full court press to make sweeping changes to gun laws late Tuesday night, moving a pair of contentious bills out of a house committee along strict party line votes.

The measures require background checks for every gun sale in the state and restrict ammunition magazines to those that hold no more than 15 rounds. Debate on the bills lasted for nearly 10 hours and drew a standing room only crowd of 300-400 people, most of them opposed to the proposals.

The debate took place against the backdrop of President Obama demanding that Congress vote on substantive gun reform during his State of the Union address, as well as a dramatic shoot-out in California between police and a heavily armed man believed to be fugitive ex-cop Chris Dorner in Big Bear.

Colorado’s determination to tighten the screws on gun laws has made it the new front line in the longstanding clash between those who want to introduce new checks on firearms purchases and those who see such moves as a erosion of constitutional rights.

“I think ultimately the goal is (firearms) registration,” said Robert Eskenberry, a representative of a group of gun rights advocates called Oath Keepers who have vowed to uphold the constitution. Eskenberry was asked to leave the committee room because his T-shirt, which featured the oath printed on the back, was deemed too political by the Chief Sergeant at Arms.

Other opponents, including Washington, D.C.-based National Rifle Association lobbyist Daniel Carey, questioned whether the bills would have any effect on violent crime and called the background check requirement both unconstitutional and “an unjust burden on the citizens of Colorado.”

Democratic Rep. Rhonda Fields, who sponsored both bills, said the Aurora theater shootings were the driving factor behind the proposed legislation, just as the Columbine shootings in 1999 led to a citizen initiative to require background checks at gun shows, which until then were not required.

more here: http://dailycaller.com/2013/02/13/colorado-house-committee-approves-first-round-of-gun-control-measures/