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Her dad bled to death at Columbine High School. His nephew died in the Aurora theater shooting. Her sister was one of six staffers killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The families of victims of gun violence provided the most dramatic testimony Monday afternoon as lawmakers in separate House and Senate committees debated seven Republican gun bills that loosened gun restrictions, expanded gun rights or overturned gun-control legislation Democrats passed two years ago.

“My sister had a right to life,” said Jane Dougherty of Littleton, whose sibling was killed at Sandy Hook. “My sister had a right to grow old. … Nobody ever died from a background check.”

Many of the arguments for or against the bills are the same ones lawmakers have heard before, but this time around there wasn’t the vitriol that marked the 2013 hearings. Instead of hundreds of Coloradans descending on the Capitol, forcing staffers to set up overflow rooms, there were seats available in the committee rooms.

Dudley Brown, head of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, the state’s most strident gun rights group, says the reason Monday appeared fairly tame is many members felt they did their work in last year’s election.

The state Senate went Republican for the first time in a decade, the Democratic majority in the House shrank to three seats, and Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper, once deemed invincible, was in the fight of his life.

The Democratic-controlled State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee heard five gun bills late into the night. They were all expected to die. The Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee heard two bills, which passed on 3-2 party-line votes.

Among the witnesses who raced back and forth between the two rooms to testify on different bills: Ron Sloan, director of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation; Daniel Carey, state liaison with the National Rifle Association; and Coni Sanders, whose father, Dave, died at Columbine on April 20, 1999.

Sloan testified against Senate Bill 86 and House Bill 1050, identical measures that would repeal a 2013 law requiring background checks for firearms transfers between private citizens.

He noted that 308,908 law-abiding Coloradans passed a criminal background check for a firearm transfer last fiscal year. During that same period, he said, about 6,068 firearms sales were blocked because the applicant had a record, with crimes ranging from sex assault to burglary to homicide.

Sanders, who works with domestic violence victims, also opposed the bills. A repeal of Colorado’s background checks law on private gun sales “would put guns back in the hands of people like those who killed my father,” she said.

The other controversial measure from 2013 banned ammunition magazines higher than 15 rounds. A House bill attempted to repeal that but failed on a 6-5 vote.

Tom Mauser, the father of Columbine victim Daniel Mauser, told legislators to “personalize it” and put partisanship aside when they viewed the bill.

Jay Kelso of Colorado Springs said lawmakers were determining how he could defend his home with the magazine limit. “Some politicians have a sickness in their soul that makes them think they know what’s best for the rest of us,” he said.

He also said the testimony of the loved ones of Columbine, Aurora and Sandy Hook victims did not trump his Second Amendment rights.

“My wife and 6-year-old daughter are just as precious as any one of those,” he said.

Prior to the hearings, the group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense gathered at the Capitol to urge the defeat of the GOP bills on Monday’s calendar.

Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327, lbartels@denverpost.com or twitter.com/lynn_bartels

Gun bills

The fate of gun bills heard Monday in the legislature

House

HB 1050: Repeals requirement that anyone besides a licensed gun dealer who transfers possession of a firearm must obtain a background check and repeals requirement that charges a fee for a check. Defeated 6-5.

HB 1127: Establishes immunity from certain civil actions for owners and operators of businesses open to the public who adopt a policy allowing persons to carry a concealed handgun on the premises. Defeated 6-5.

HB 1009: Repeals the ban on the possession of large-capacity ammunition magazines. Defeated 6-5.

HB 1049: Adds a place of business to the locations that may be defended with deadly physical force. Defeated 6-5.

HB 1086: Requires the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to produce in a certain time frame certificates allowing for the transfers of machine guns, destructive devices or other firearms or explain why, in that time frame, it was denied. Defeated 7-4.

Senate

SB 86: Background checks. Same as HB 1050. Passed 3-2.

SB 32: Allows a person who can legally possess a handgun under state and federal law to carry a concealed handgun in Colorado without a permit. Passed 3-2.