Colo. House votes to ban high-capacity ammo magazines

Michael Winter, USA TODAY | USATODAY

The Colorado House voted Monday to ban high-capacity ammunition magazines and forbid concealed weapons on college campuses.

The Democratic-majority House also passed measures to require background checks on firearm sales between private parties and for Coloradans to pay for all state gun verifications.

The four bills won initial approval Friday.

One measure, House Bill 1224, would limit magazines to 15 rounds for rifles and pistols and eight shells for shotguns. The bill originally called for limits of 10 rounds and five shells, respectively.

The bill mandating background checks on private-party sales would not apply to guns transferred as "bona fide gifts" between "immediate family members" — parents, children, siblings, spouses, grandparents and grandchildren.

Background checks, which are conducted by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, would cost between $5 and $12.

Republicans opposed all four bills, arguing they are unconstitutional and would not stop gun crimes.

House Bill 1226 bans concealed weapons on college campuses.

"There are a lot of students who simply are not ready to be in the presence of firearms. It's a dangerous mix," said the bill's Democratic sponsor, Rep. Claire Levy, The Denver Postreported.

But one Republican said the bill would put women at risk.

"A rapist entering a women's dorm will not be stopped by a whistle or a call box," said Rep. Lois Landgraf.

The legislation must still clear the Democratic-majority Senate and be signed into law by Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat.