Colorado's newest state senator — George Rivera from Pueblo, who replaced Angela Giron via an unpopular recall election last year over gun safety legislation — has failed in an attempt to overturn the state's newly enacted background check bill.
Senate Democrats defeated the repeal bill Monday on a 3-2 party-line committee vote after dozens testified for and against the proposal in the Capitol's largest hearing room, which was packed with a couple of hundred people.
But the crowd didn't equal the size or the intensity of last year when gun rights supporters drove their honking cars around the Capitol in protest as lawmakers discussed a package of gun-control bills spearheaded by Democrats.
http://www.denverpost.com/...
The background check bill strengthens Colorado's existing background check system by addressing sales that were not required to go through a check - private sales. Now, with the new legislation in place since last July, more than 100 people who should not have guns have been prevented from buying a gun:
Among the crimes that resulted in denials were one homicide, six restraining orders and 16 assaults. In all, 6,076 background checks have been conducted for private and online sales. That's a small percentage of the overall number of checks for the year, which stands at 389,604. The rate of denial for firearms after a background check on private and online transactions is just under 2 percent, about the same as the overall rate of denial for all gun sales.
The Colorado state GOP seems to think it can take this message to the voters this November, "Let's repeal background checks and put guns into the hands of violent and dangerous people convicted of homicide, assault and who have restraining orders."
Colorado Democrats on the other hand will simply say, "government works, we are keeping you safer and here are the facts to prove it."
And to boot - Democrats proved they are willing to put principle above political expediency.
Talk about Democrats growing a spine!
Colorado Strong - Colorado Proud.