Semi-automatic gun ban nixed in Colorado’s Democratic-controlled statehouse after historic progress

DENVER — A bill to ban the sale and transfer of semi-automatic firearms was defeated in Colorado’s Democratic-controlled Legislature on Tuesday, as lawmakers pushed forward with a slew of other gun control bills to mark the 25th anniversary year of the massacre at Columbine High School.

The Western state has a rich history with firearms, marked by some of the most high-profile mass shootings across the country. Both factors play a major role in gun control debates in the Legislature, complicating attempts at such bans that nine other Democratic-controlled states have passed, including California and New York.

The Colorado House approved the ban in a historic first and what advocates see as a “great achievement” after roughly the same proposal was quickly defeated last year. But some Senate Democrats are wary of the effectiveness and scope of the ban, which bans the sale. , transfer and manufacture of semi-automatic firearms.

Colorado’s blue shift is reflected in part by a number of successful gun control measures passed last year, including raising the age to purchase a gun from 18 to 21. This year, a half-dozen proposals are nearing passage, including a bill to put a measure on the November 2024 ballot to tax gun and ammunition sales. Another would give the Colorado Bureau of Investigation more power to investigate gun sales that are already illegal.

The state’s purple roots have frustrated attempts at a broader ban.

A decade ago, two lawmakers were ousted in the state’s first recall election for their support of bills that imposed restrictions on ammunition magazines and expanded background checks.

“That history, I think, continues,” said Democratic state Sen. Julie Gonzales, one of the sponsors of the semi-automatic ban bill. She added that the bill’s success in the House of Representatives “signals that there is a new space for us to have different conversations.”

But for now, Gonzales asked during a sparsely attended committee hearing Tuesday that the legislation be put to rest despite opposition from Senate Democrats.

That committee includes Democratic state Sen. Tom Sullivan, who would have had a “no” vote, along with Republican lawmakers who have blasted the bill as an infringement on Second Amendment rights.

Sullivan’s son, Alex, was one of 12 people killed in the 2012 Aurora theater shooting during a midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises.” The tragedy catapulted Sullivan into gun control activism and then into public office, where he spearheaded many bills on the issue.

Sullivan said the guns the bill seeks to restrict are involved in only a small portion of gun deaths and injuries. Those firearms include a long list of semi-automatic rifles, along with some pistols and shotguns, with certain features such as a threaded barrel or a detachable stock.

Their ban would not make much of a dent in gun violence, Sullivan argued, and the proposal takes up enormous political oxygen in the capital — boosting opposition and undermining more effective and less controversial gun control measures.

“The story doesn’t add up at all,” Sullivan said. “That’s what they want you to believe: that it’s about assault weapons and schools. It’s not. … It’s suicides and it’s domestic violence.”

Democratic state Rep. Tim Hernández, one of the bill’s sponsors, said he had had many conversations with Sullivan in recent months.

“We both agree that an assault weapons ban is not a silver bullet for the gun violence epidemic,” Hernández said. “To get to a place where we interrogate all the ways in which gun violence manifests itself, we need to have policies in place for all the ways in which it manifests.”

The proposal is expected to be resubmitted next year.

Meanwhile, other bills on the governor’s desk include a proposal to require more stringent safety training for someone seeking a concealed carry permit. And you would require firearms dealers to obtain a state license, not just a federal one, to give regulators more power to enforce state gun laws.