david.ross
Regular Member
imported post
http://cbs4denver.com/local/Debate.Gun.Storage.2.918172.html
http://cbs4denver.com/local/Debate.Gun.Storage.2.918172.html
A bill that would have forced local communities to discontinue efforts to protect children from gun accidents got shot down during a hearing in a Senate committee on Monday.
Senate Bill 74 would have prohibited safe-storage ordinances in Colorado and allowed the sale of guns and accessories manufactured in Colorado to be exempt from federal laws. It was killed by the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee on a 3-2 vote.
Opponents said 19 states, including Montana and Kansas, have already passed child access prevention laws designed to protect children from firearms stored without safety devices.
Chris Olson, spokesman for the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, said the proposed law was unconstitutional because it would have pre-empted acts of Congress.
Olson said laws requiring safety locks of guns are not an infringement on gun rights.
"It's not some sort of a ban on weapons, but it's for protection of citizens," Olson told lawmakers.
Olson said a provision exempting gun accessories would have allowed gunsmiths to manufacture automatic weapons in Colorado.
Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, said he sponsored the bill because of concerns that the Obama administration would crack down on gun rights.
"People are really concerned there is going to be some type of ban on sales of firearms in Colorado," Brophy said.
Brophy said the Clinton administration passed a law that banned a rifle magazine manufactured in Colorado, claiming it contained too many bullets. That ban has expired, but Brophy said he is worried the Obama administration will try to reinstate it.