DENVER (CBS4) – Colorado recently passed controversial new gun control laws and now the state is being used as a model to change gun laws nationwide.

On Saturday nine chairs sat in front of the state Capitol building steps representing the nine women who die every week form domestic gun violence.

“As a mom myself this is an issue that’s personal to me,” state Sen. Evie Hudak said at the rally.

Hudak, Reps. Beth McCann and Rhonda Fields, along with the Colorado Chapter of Moms Demand Action want tougher gun control laws nationally.

“We know that these are dangerous situations,” McCann said.

Laws like Senate Bill 197, recently passed into Colorado law, stops domestic abusers with a protection order or a domestic violence conviction from owning a firearm.

“The onus is on the offender to take care of it,” Hudak said.

The bill was sponsored by Hudak, who holds the issue very closely.

“I had a student when I was a teacher at Barnes Business College that was murdered by an ex-boyfriend that she had a restraining order against,” she said.

While some critics say there are enough gun control laws already in effect, Hudak says numbers don’t lie and the nine chairs displayed at the Capitol says it all.

“We obviously hadn’t been protecting women enough,” she said.

The group is sending dozens of cutout number nines to Washington to call for stronger laws nationwide to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.

“It is a very serious problem,” Hudak said.

New gun laws in Colorado have caused major controversy. Two state lawmakers were relieved of their seats in recall elections because of their stance on gun control.

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