Colorado House passes bill banning sale of so-called assault weapons

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The Colorado House of Representatives on Sunday passed a bill that would ban the purchase, sale and transfer of a broad swath of semiautomatic firearms, defined in the measure as assault weapons. The legislation now faces an uncertain fate in the Senate.

House Bill 1292 passed 35-27, mostly along party lines, with three representatives excused.

Republicans in the chamber voted uniformly against the measure. They were joined by nine Democrats, mostly from swing districts, including Reps. Meghan Lukens of Steamboat Springs, Marc Snyder of Manitou Springs, Bob Marshall of Highlands Ranch and Mary Young of Greeley.

Republicans argued during roughly four hours of debate during a rare Sunday workday at the Capitol that the measure would violate the Second Amendment and that it wouldn’t address the societal causes of mass shootings, like mental health.

“This bill does not address the real issues that we have in our state,” said Rep. Lisa Frizell, a Castle Rock Republican. “It does nothing.”

Democrats said it was a step toward addressing a uniquely American problem, invoking the massacres in Littleton, at Columbine High School; in Aurora, at the Century 16 movie theater; and in Boulder, at the King Sooper’s grocery story in the city’s Table Mesa Neighborhood.

“I don’t believe this bill is going to stop all gun violence,” said Rep. Jennifer Bacon, a Denver Democrat. “I don’t believe this bill is going to stop all the crime. But I do believe this bill will help if we also are willing to talk about why people don’t value each other’s lives, how we can talk to young people about trying to solve problems in different ways.”

The bill now heads to the Senate, where it’s unclear if it has enough support to advance to be sent to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk.

Democrats have a 23-12 majority in the Senate, but the chamber is considered far more moderate than the House. The measure didn’t have a main sponsor in the Senate until recently, when Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Denver Democrat, agreed to try to shepherd the legislation forward.

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