Out Colorado lawmakers draw national interest over gun-related bills

Rep. Dominick Moreno, D-Commerce City, was in Colorado’s House Chamber when he received a call on his cell phone. He let the call go to voicemail, and continued with the work of the assembly – but when Moreno left the House Floor moments later, he discovered an unexpected message from Vice President Joe Biden.

“It was a complete surprise,” Moreno told Out Front, adding that he promptly returned Biden’s call. “He had questions about the legislation we were proposing here in Colorado, so I gave him a brief overview of the gun safety measures that we were considering in front of the House.”

Four bills were being debated: Closing the loophole on background checks for private sales, requiring gun buyers to pay for their own background checks, limiting gun magazines to 15 rounds, and banning concealed weapons on college campuses.

Biden called three other Colorado lawmakers: Speaker of the House Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, Rep. Mike McLachlan, D-Durango, and Rep. Tony Exum, D-Colorado Springs.

“The Vice President put in an encouraging word that obviously these conversations are difficult,” said Moreno, “but emphasized Colorado’s importance in the national debate on this issue.”

As a bill for civil unions moves through Colorado’s House – likely to finally pass this year after being killed on party lines in the House three times in years past – the development in same-sex relationship rights in Colorado is inevitably noted along with the fact that for the first time, Colorado’s House Speaker, Ferrandino, is openly gay, as are a record eight state lawmakers. But while that may be top-of-mind for Colorado LGBT activists and advocates, the out lawmakers, which include Moreno and Ferrandino, contend with all the state’s issues – and the gun-related measures have become the mainstream press’ story of the year so far.

The gun control controversy in Colorado intensified last July when a heavily armed man named James Holmes allegedly walked into an Aurora theater, shooting and killing 12 and injuring 58. Holmes used several guns in the attack, including an AR-15 rifle with a 100-round barrel magazine.

Moreno said most of his constituents “generally agreed with the philosophy that, why do I need a 50 round magazine? There’s really no need for that. The standard issue is at 15 or lower.”

Moreno co-sponsored two of the bills: Requiring universal background checks and buyers to pay their own fees for background checks. “When we have a situation where you can simply buy a gun off of a website like craigslist and not go through a background check, that’s obviously a gaping hole that we needed to fill.”

A January 2013 poll conducted by the Denver Post found that 83 percent of Coloradans support a law requiring background checks on gun sales, which would cover purchases from private sellers.

“I think the four [bills] have broad support whether you own guns or not,” said Moreno. “I’m pretty happy with what we’ve been able to pass in terms of increasing community safety.”

On Feb. 18, all four bills passed the House with no Republican support, and some Democrats voting against them. The legislation now moves to Colorado’s Senate, where it’s unclear if all the proposals have the votes to survive. Whatever the outcome, some Colorado representatives feel more can and should be done.

“This, to me, is just a start,” Rep. Joann Ginal, D-Fort Collins, told Out Front. “I do believe that there are issues surrounding mental health. I think there will be other bills coming that will help in that area.”

The Post poll showed that 61 percent of Coloradans think the state could improve its efforts in keeping firearms from those suffering from mental illness.

Ginal, who voted for all four bills, said many of her constituents were concerned Colorado legislators were creating draconian laws. “One of the things that I’m sometimes baffled about when I have people who oppose any of the bills that passed, is that we we’re trying to take guns away from them. We’re not.”

Ginal is the daughter of a police officer and emphasized she understands the need to protect the Second Amendment. “I really want to strike a balance between respecting gun owner’s rights as well as protecting our communities. To me, public safety and the safety of our citizens is the most important thing we can do.”

Rep. Paul Rosenthal, D-Denver, also voted for all four gun measures. “This is something that I have felt myself for some time, that we need to do more to protect our citizens from gun violence and from folks who should not have weapons.”

Rosenthal is supportive of additional gun control initiatives. “Personally, I would like to see a ban on assault rifles.”

Though the city of Denver has had an assault-weapons ban since 1989, Colorado has no such statute. Banning assault weapons, such as the AR-15 used by Holmes, is supported by 64 percent of Coloradans, according to the Post poll.

Rosenthal said that during his campaign, it was his constituents who helped shape his opinion on the issue. “I’m certainly hearing from folks who want us to do common-sense gun safety legislation.”

But not everyone agrees, with half of Colorado residents stating it’s more important to protect gun ownership than to control it, according to the Post poll. The controversial debate has driven some to levy threats at their legislators.

Sen. Jessie Ulibarri, D-Commerce City, who declined to comment before the gun bills reach the Senate, reported on his website that he and his family were the target of harassment after he stated additional guns in civic life would jeopardize public safety.

“I have received some of the most hateful, offensive and threatening messages in the course of this debate by those purporting to be law-abiding citizens who own guns,” Ulibarri wrote, adding that “we must acknowledge our fellow citizens and residents with basic human dignity if we want anything to change. I am committed to this principle, and I hope to receive the same level of consideration moving forward.”

Gov. Hickenlooper supports three of the four bills, not yet taking a position on the concealed carry ban on college campuses. Last Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation, the governor stated his top priority was universal background checks, but remained quiet on his position on an assault-weapons ban.