State house passes gun bills
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Posted 11:49 PM 2/18/2013 : Pueblo Rep. Garcia breaks with party on 3 gun votes
DENVER - Among the handful of Democratic representatives voting against gun control measures Monday was freshman representative Leroy Garcia of Pueblo. He voted no on three of the four measures, only supporting the universal background check bill.
"We don't want criminals or people who shouldn't have guns possessing guns," Garcia said. "We want people to be responsible and universal background checks then tighten up those internet sales and other areas where people could get guns that maybe shouldn't have them."
Garcia says his decisions came as a direct result of the thousands of emails and phone calls he's received from constituents. He said House Bill 1226, which bans concealed firearms on college campuses, targets the wrong people.
"This is not the right approach to go after people who have gone through the training, have a permit which is authorized by the Sheriff for concealed carry," Garcia said. "We need to go after the areas to tighten up gun control through mental health, background checks and address where criminals have access."
Posted 11:16 PM 2/18/2013 : Colorado magazine maker threatens to move
ERIE, CO - A proposed law that passed the Colorado House of Representatives on a partyline vote Monday would it illegal to own or sell some of the high capacity ammunition magazines manufactured at Magpul Industries.
House Bill 1224 limits magazine capacity in the state to no more than 15 rounds. The law also has an amendment that would allow Magpul to continue their business here in the state, but company executives say staying in Colorado under such a restriction would damage their relationship with customers.
Magpul marketing director Duane Liptak told our media partners at 9 News in Denver they are not as concerned with the loss of sales in our state, as they are about the perception that doing business here would send.
"It would be seen as buckling on the values that we've hereto been a champion of and have been fighting very hard to maintain here in the state of Colorado," Liptak said.
The company makes the high-capacity magazines for military and civilian use. It employs about 200 people at their Erie facility, and have contracts with hundreds more throughout the state.
State Representative Joe Salazar, (D) Thornton disagrees.
He told 9 News, "no, it doesn't make them move. It gives them the option of staying. Anybody who says it's going to make them move obviously hasn't read the bill and hasn't read the language."
Salazar added that House Democrats worked with Magpul to craft the language of the amendment that would allow the company to continue to operate.
Posted 11:10 PM 2/18/2013 : Sen. Morse: gun control bills likely to pass state senate
COLORADO SPRINGS - The four gun control bills that passed the Colorado House of Representatives Monday are likely to make it through the State Senate as well. Senate President John Morse, (D) Colorado Springs, expects it to take a couple of days for the bills to be transferred over and assigned to the appropriate committees.
"My sense is, we need 18 (votes) and we've got 20 to get the 18 out of and I suspect that we will, but again I don't know that yet for sure."
Each bill passed the house on a party-line vote with only a handful of Democrats voting against the measures. House Bill 1224 would limit magazines to 15 rounds of ammunition, HB 1226 bans concealed firearms on college campuses, HB 1228 requires gun buyers to pay for the cost of their criminal background check and HB 1229 makes background checks mandatory for all firearms transactions.
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