Gun rights supporters descend on Colorado Capitol [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Gun rights supporters descend on Colorado Capitol
By IVAN MORENO and ALEXANDRA TILSLEY, Associated Press | March 4, 2013 | Updated: March 4, 2013 2:28pm

DENVER (AP) — The battle over new firearm restrictions intensified in Colorado on Monday as hundreds of gun rights supporters crammed the state Capitol and circled the building with car horns blaring, while inside the husband of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords urged lawmakers to pass universal background checks.

Colorado has become a focus point in the national debate over what new laws, if any, are needed to prevent gun violence in the wake of recent mass shootings, including an attack at a suburban Denver movie theater last summer — a massacre that brought to mind the Columbine High School shooting of 1999 for many in the state and across the nation.

Lawmakers in the politically moderate state are considering a package of gun control measures, including plans that would limit the size of ammunition magazines and expand background checks to include private sales and online purchases.

Retired astronaut and Navy captain Mark Kelly told lawmakers that he and his wife support the Second Amendment, but he said the right to bear arms shouldn't extend to criminals and the mentally ill.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Gun-rights-supporters-descend-on-Colorado-Capitol-4325666.php