Colorado Senate Democrats Tuesday, over strong objections from the Republican minority, passed Senate Bill 256, a bill that lifts the state's ban on stricter gun laws for cities and counties.
The final vote along party lines, 19-15, with one Democrat absent, sent the measure to the state House for consideration.
Senate Majority Leader Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder, said he started working on the bill before the March 22 King Soopers shooting in south Boulder, and just after a Boulder district court judge tossed a local ordinance banning assault weapons within city limits.
"I don't think it's right that some cities can do this and some cannot," he said, referring to a similar Denver ordinance banning firearms that was upheld by the state Supreme Court, due to it being an issue of mixed state and local concern. Guns play a different role in everyone's life, he acknowledged. For some, guns are normal part of life while others may not have ever seen one.