Bill Repealing Colorado's Large-Capacity Magazine Ban Heading to Committee

On February 28, Colorado's Senate's State, Veterans & Military Affairs committee will consider a bill that would repeal a ban on large-capacity ammunition magazines, which allow guns to shoot more than fifteen rounds of ammunition.

By Ana Campbell

February 15, 2018

Nikolas Cruz frequently shared photos on his social-media pages of animals that he had killed. Broward Sheriff's Office

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On Valentine's Day, a shooter walked into a high school in Parkland, Florida, and killed seventeen people. Nikolas Cruz, a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, was taken into custody a few hours later.

Cruz was "so frightening to teachers that he'd been banned from even carrying a backpack into school," writes the Miami New Times, our sister paper in Florida.

"So how does a guy like that get his hands on a military-style weapon capable of pumping dozens of rounds into innocent victims without even reloading?," writer Tim Elfrink continued. "Well, this is Florida, so he just walks into a gun shop and buys one."

On February 28, the Colorado Senate's State, Veterans & Military Affairs committee will consider a bill that would repeal a ban on large-capacity ammunition magazines, which allow guns to shoot more than fifteen rounds of ammunition. Sponsored by Senator Owen Hill and representatives Stephen Humphrey and Lori Saine, all Republicans, the bill would repeal a 2013 law that made selling, transferring or possessing large-capacity magazines a Class 2 misdemeanor in Colorado.

We've reached out to Hill and Humphrey for comment on whether the bill will be reconsidered in the wake of the Parkland shooting. A Saine representative declined to comment.

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Ana Campbell has been Westword's managing editor since 2016. She has worked at magazines and newspapers around the country, picking up a few awards along the way for her writing and editing. She grew up in south Texas.

Contact: Ana Campbell

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