Bump stock ban fails in Senate panel vote

Republican state senators on Monday afternoon rejected a bill from Democrats that would have banned bump stocks in Colorado.

Senate Bill 51 failed on a 3-2, party-line vote in the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.

The measure would have created a ban on the devices, which can increase a semi-automatic rifle’s rate of fire to near what an automatic firearm can discharge. Bump stocks were used by a gunman who killed 58 people and injured hundreds more in October at a country music festival in Las Vegas.

President Donald Trump has called for a federal ban on bump stocks, but Colorado Republicans have been opposed to such a move. The Denver City Council banned bump stocks in January through an ordinance.

Senate Bill 51 went down following hours of emotional testimony and amid a renewed debate on firearms in Colorado and across the nation following last month’s high school shooting in south Florida.

Opponents of the measure questioned what impact it would have on preventing gun violence, saying other rapid-fire modifications are possible, and raised concerns about limiting the rights of gun owners with disabilities who use bump stocks to shoot.

Sen. Owen Hill, R-Colorado Springs, called the debate a question of government responsibility and freedom. He’s a member of the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee and voted against the bill.

The bill’s proponents — including gun violence survivors — said bump stocks are a dangerous tool whose only use is to inflict as much carnage as possible.

“These devices are an end run on the restriction we current have on automatic weapons,” said Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle, a Democrat. “They present a tremendous challenge to law enforcement when in use. I think that this is a no-brainer.”

Statehouse Republicans, who control the Senate, have also been pushing this session to repeal the state’s 2013 ban on high-capacity magazines and to allow business owners and employees to use deadly force against intruders, similar to the “make my day” law for homeowners.

Democrats, who control the House, have rejected such efforts.

The bump-stock ban legislation was arguably thus far the most significant gun-control measure brought by Democrats this legislative session.

Associated Press file A device called a “bump stock” is seen attached to a semiautomatic rifle. A bill that would ban the device failed in a Senate panel in the state legislature.