DENVER (AP) Responding to the Colorado supermarket shooting that killed 10 people, state Democratic lawmakers have outlined bills that would create a state office dedicated to prevent gun violence, expand background checks and allow municipalities greater freedom to adopt their own gun control laws.
Senate Majority Leader Stephen Fenberg says the legislation, which has yet to be introduced, likely would not have stopped the Boulder shooting from happening. But he said Thursday that the package advances Democrats' gun control initiatives this year that have included new laws requiring safe firearms storage and reporting of lost or stolen firearms.
Fenberg previously has said larger scale measures such as a state ban on assault weapons can be evaded without a national ban.
Lawmakers said the package includes a bill that would bar persons convicted of certain violent misdemeanors from buying a firearm for five years. The suspect in the March 22 Boulder supermarket shooting had been convicted of a third-degree misdemeanor assault charge.
It also would close a loophole in state law that allows a gun buyer to obtain a weapon from a dealer if a background check hasn't been completed within three days.
