Colorado House Kills 3 Gun Bills in One Day

Colorado Democrats on the state House’s State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee voted 6-3 in party-line votes to “postpone indefinitely” House Bills 1036, 1037 and 1097. Such a move usually means a death sentence in Colorado’s Legislature.

House Bill 1036 would have completely stripped language from the state’s statute that currently forbids people from carrying concealed handguns on public school grounds, even if the holder has a permit.

It was killed after more than four hours of testimony, including some from the father of a boy killed in the Columbine shooting and a woman whose sister was killed in Newtown. Support for the measure came from the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Patrick Neville, who was a Columbine graduate.

House Bill 1037 would have expanded state law that allows people in their own homes to use deadly force against a person under certain circumstances to owners, managers, and employees of a business as well.

Under the law, those business employees would have been allowed to use physical or deadly force against a person who is believed to have committed a crime while uninvited inside the business, or against a person who is believed to have posed a threat of physical violence. The indefinite postponement means those conditions will likely only remain in effect for homeowners.

And finally, the committee also killed House Bill 1097, which would have eliminated a section of state law that bars “large-capacity magazines.”

The statute, which was written in 2013 banned any weapon magazine that could hold more than 15 rounds of ammunition, and in the case of shotguns, any magazine that could hold more than 28 inches of shells. It also banned any magazine that could hold more than eight shotgun shells when combined with a fixed magazine.

The statute also banned the possession, sale or transfer of any large-capacity magazines after July 1, 2013, and required any person in possession of or manufacturer who was making such magazines at the time to have a stamp or marking noting it was made after that date.

The bill would have eliminated both portions of the statute.

So, a long story short, it seems that Colorado’s stance on firearms has made a staunch turn left for the foreseeable future. What do you all think? Do you think these bill postponements are going to hurt Coloradans? Let us know in the comments.