In newspaper ads Monday, the father of Columbine High School shooting victim Daniel Mauser urged U.S. Sen. Mark Udall to support a bill to expand criminal-background checks at gun shows nationwide.
The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence paid for the ads that appeared in The Denver Post and the Boulder Daily Camera. A friend of the Columbine gunmen bought three of their weapons at a gun show from a private seller who wasn’t required to conduct background checks, as federally licensed dealers do.
After the shootings, Colorado voters approved a law closing the so-called gun-show loophole. Tom Mauser wants Udall to support a bill closing it nationwide. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., signed on as a co-sponsor of the bill last week.
Udall’s office said he supported the passage of Colorado’s law.
“Mark has supported efforts to close the gun-show loophole in the past, and the only question is whether the Lautenberg bill does that without unintended consequences,” Udall spokeswoman Tara Trujillo said in a written statement. The Associated Press
