This story was produced as part of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. It first appeared at kunc.org.
A bill that would make it illegal in Colorado to make, sell or buy guns that can accept detachable ammunition magazines cleared its first legislative hurdle late Tuesday after some eight hours of public testimony.
One of the bill’s main sponsors, state Sen. Tom Sullivan, D-Centennial, opened a hearing before the Senate State, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee by talking about his son’s murder during the 2012 Aurora theater shooter.
“High-capacity magazines are what put the ‘mass’ into mass shootings,” Sullivan said. “The people of Colorado have mandated that we do something about the public health crisis that is gun violence, so that’s what we’re going to do.”
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Which guns would be affected by Colorado’s proposed ban on semiautomatic weapons with detachable magazines
The Colorado Sun analyzed Senate Bill 3 to parse out the semiautomatic rifles, shotguns and pistols that couldn’t be manufactured, sold or purchased if the measure becomes law. The legislation would not affect possession.
Read moreSenate Bill 3 targets certain semiautomatic rifles, shotguns and pistols that are capable of accepting detachable ammunition magazines. If the bill passes, the affected firearms could be manufactured, sold or purchased in Colorado only if they have a permanently fixed magazine — either by welding, epoxy or soldering — that could not accept more than 15 rounds of ammunition.
The hearing drew hundreds of witnesses to the state Capitol to testify. Coloradans from all over the state crowded the building’s marble-clad hallways hoping to get a seat in the packed committee room.
There were two other committee rooms opened for overflow spectators. Testimony was limited to about eight hours.
Sullivan and his cosponsor in the Senate, Denver Democrat Sen. Julie Gonzales, said the main reason they brought the bill is to enforce Colorado’s existing 2013 ban on magazines that can hold more than 15 rounds. They also argue the bill is an important way to limit the damage inflicted during mass shootings.
Supporters for the measure include Everytown for Gun Safety, a national group that pushes for tighter gun regulations.
“We have a lot of people signed up to testify who have been touched by gun violence and have been touched specifically by the dangers of high-capacity magazines paired with firearms that accept them,” said the group’s senior counsel, Allison Shih, who testified at the hearing.
“I’m here to talk to people about how impactful this kind of law will be, and I think that the truth will carry the day.”
Conversely, those opposed to the bill, including some county sheriffs, argued for hours that it would infringe Coloradans’ constitutional rights to own guns.
One opposition group, Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, showed up to the Capitol with dozens of boxes it said were filled with petitions opposing the measure.
The group’s executive director, Ian Escalante, held an opposition rally outside of the statehouse ahead of the hearing.
“Let’s make this happen. Let’s push hard, and let’s not let these people trample over our rights. Who’s ready to take our state back?” Escalante said through a megaphone to cheers from the crowd.
During the committee hearing, Escalante sat feet from Sullivan and Gonzales. He posted on social media that Sullivan was acting “deranged and senseless.”
Other opponents of the bill who testified Tuesday also singled out Sullivan and the murder of his son, Alex, in their criticism of the measure.
But after eight hours of public testimony, the committee ultimately voted to advance the measure, as expected, 3-2 along party lines, with all of the Democrats on the Senate State, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, including Sullivan, voting “yes.”
The measure now heads to the full Senate, where it’s expected to pass. The legislation was introduced with enough cosponsors to clear the chamber, where previous gun measures have failed in recent years.
Senate Bill 3 would amount to one of the most wide-reaching gun restrictions in the country. It takes a different approach on tackling gun violence from past policies on both the state and federal levels. A handful of states have bans on what they define as assault weapons, but those policies, while similar in effect, are different than the breadth of Senate Bill 3.
“Unlike last year’s bill and what other states have done and the original federal prohibition on assault weapons, this is just fundamentally different in substance,” said Shih, the lawyer for Everytown. “It’s a new approach to still regulating military-style firearms, just in a completely different way from what any other state has done.”
Opposition groups, like RMGO, have vowed to sue to block Senate Bill 3 from going into effect should it become law.
Colorado Sun staff writer Jesse Paul contributed to this report.
This story was produced by the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Funding for the Alliance is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.