Colorado Gun Bills Signed Into Law

Governor John Hickenlooper signed into law three Colorado gun bills which restrict the sale or conduct of sale of firearms and ammunition. Traditionally, Colorado has been a stronghold of gun ownership. The bills have made the state a test case for the acceptance of gun restrictions.

Aurora and Columbine Shootings

The timing of the bill signing was also of great importance. It has been eight months since a lone gunman shot dozens of moviegoers inside a cinema in Aurora, Colorado. It was the second deadliest mass shooting in Colorado since the Columbine High School massacre in 1999.

The day before the bill signing, the executive director of the Colorado Corrections Department was shot to death as he was answering the door of his home. Sheriff’s department still has no known suspect.

Gun Restrictions

The laws include limiting gun magazines to 15 rounds, a universal background check prior to purchase and the third charges gun buyers for the cost of the background checks. It may be noted that during the Aurora shooting, James Eagan Holmes used a 12-gauge Remington shotgun, a Smith & Wesson automatic rifle with a 100-round drum magazine, and two Glock handguns. He also threw two canisters of tear gas grenades.

In attendance at the bill signing were family members of victims of various shooting incidents. Surrounding Gov. Hickenlooper were Tom Mauser, the father of one of the victims of the 1999 Columbine shooting; Sandy Phillips, the mother of a victim of the Aurora massacre; and Jane Dougherty, a sister of a victim Sandy Hook Elementary killings in Newtown, Connecticut.

Colorado is only the second state, after New York, to implement gun control restrictions after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

At the same time, two ballot measures have been introduced in the State legislature to repeal the approved bills.

Meanwhile, Magpul Industries announced that they will be relocating from Colorado. Magpul manufactures 30-round gun magazines and will be directly affected by the new laws.