Re: “,” Oct. 4 Perspective column.
The commentary about the legal fees that the parents of one of the victims in the Aurora theater shooting have been ordered to pay to the sellers of the firearms and ammunition that were used to kill their daughter included the erroneous assertion that the Aurora shooting did not lead to any amendments to Colorado’s gun laws.
How could the author not recall the decisive action that the Democrats of the Colorado legislature took in 2013 to address loopholes in Colorado’s gun laws?
Arguably, the most significant of the new laws requires background checks on all gun sales in Colorado, including private sales. I was a prime sponsor of this legislation, and am very proud that Colorado was a leader in taking this important step. Background checks on all gun sales are the best way to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people.
In a little more than two years since this law went into effect, private gun sales have been denied to 625 people who could not pass a background check, including criminals and those with documented, dangerous mental illness. We have no way of knowing how many lives have been saved by these denials. We do know, however, that Jane Dougherty of Littleton, whose sister was murdered in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, was correct when she testified earlier this year that “no one will die from a background check.”
Another new law limits the size of magazines that can be sold in Colorado so that 100-round magazines, like the one that was used in the Aurora shooting, cannot be purchased in Colorado. Another bill that I sponsored put some teeth into an existing law that prohibits domestic-violence offenders from possessing firearms.
The other two bills require that those who purchase guns pay for their background checks and that a portion of firearms safety courses be conducted in person.
Colorado is a national leader in passing sensible gun safety laws.
Rep. Beth McCann represents Colorado House District 8 in central and northeast Denver.
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