In a lengthy hearing that heard testimony from national figures, local law enforcement and victims of mass shootings, members of a Senate committee on Monday approved a measure that would require universal background checks on all gun sales.

House Bill 1229 passed out of the State, Veteran and Military Affairs committee on a 3-2 party-line vote and will now head to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday.

The vote comes weeks after the state House passed the bill 36-29.

Among those testifying in favor of the measure was retired astronaut Capt. Mark Kelly, whose wife, former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, was wounded in a mass shooting outside a Tucson, Ariz., grocery store in January 2011.

Current state law requires people who buy guns from a retail dealer to pass a state background check by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Such checks are not required for private sales and transfers between individuals.

Democrats say the measure will close the so-called private sale gun loophole and prevent criminals from obtaining firearms. Republicans say the bill would have no effect on sales between criminals and will not keep guns out of the wrong hands.

“I’m confident this will keep guns away from those who should not have guns,” said Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, the bill’s Senate sponsor.

Committee chairwoman Sen. Angela Giron, a Pueblo Democrat, offered three amendments that address gun transfers.

All three passed, including one that provides a 72-hour window during which a gun owner can transfer possession of a gun to an immediate family member without a background check — provided that the family member can legally possess a firearm.

Inside the cramped committee room, victims from mass shootings in Aurora, Connecticut and Columbine High School offered emotional testimony that drew tears from Carroll and committee members.

Krista Ceresa , whose mother, Ginny May, was murdered by Gary Davis in 1986, said she opposed any new gun measures, including universal checks. Davis was executed in 1997.

Ceresa said a background check will not stop “sick minded people like Gary Davis” from getting a gun.

Sen. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, said the bill would not have prevented tragedies at Columbine, Newtown, Conn., or Aurora.

“As sad as they are,” he said, “this just wouldn’t have made a difference.”

Giron countered by saying her support for the bill was about more than those tragedies.

“I’m looking at gun violence that happens everyday,” a teary-eyed Giron said.

Kurtis Lee: 303-954-1655, klee@denverpost.com or twitter.com/kurtisalee