DENVER—A proposal to expand background checks on all firearm purchases advanced in the Colorado Senate after dozens on both sides of the debate testified, including the husband of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
The Democratic-sponsored bill passed on a 3-2 party-line vote in the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.
Giffords’ husband, Mark Kelly, told lawmakers that he and his wife support the Second Amendment, but that the right to bear arms shouldn’t extend to criminals and the mentally ill.
The bill would expand background checks to include private and online firearm sales.
Giffords, a former Democratic congresswoman from Tucson, Ariz., was severely wounded in a mass shooting in January 2011 while meeting with constituents.
Colorado sheriffs opposed the bill, saying that it’s unenforceable and the first step toward registering firearms.
