Gun-control advocates want tougher background checks
Peter Marcus, DDN Staff Writer
Friday, March 18, 2011

Gun-control advocates gathered in Colorado yesterday to call for a tougher federal law concerning background checks when purchasing guns.

The rally yesterday was held in conjunction with a national effort to support a federal law that would require states to submit a list of all people prohibited from buying guns, and require a background check for every gun purchased in America, including private sales.

The rally yesterday, organized by Senate Majority Leader John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, and gun control activist Tom Mauser, was held as the Fix Gun Checks national tour stopped in Colorado.

Organized by the Mayors Against Illegal Guns N of which Denver Mayor Bill Vidal is a member N the tour stopped at Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet’s Denver office to ask that he support the federal proposal.

"It’s clear that there’s people who shouldn’t be buying guns who are able to right now," said Mauser, who lost his son Daniel Mauser during the Columbine Massacre. "We need to make sure that that doesn’t happen."

A spokesman for Bennet said the senator is open to reform, but cautioned against limiting the rights of "responsible" gun owners.

"Like most Coloradans, Michael believes the Second Amendment provides a fundamental right to bear arms. He believes we shouldn’t conflate responsible gun owners with those who wish to do others harm," said Michael Amodeo, Bennet’s spokesman. "To protect our kids and communities from the dangers of gun violence, we need to better enforce current laws and, where necessary, consider reasonable reforms in order to prevent dangerous and irresponsible individuals from taking advantage of any loopholes in the law."

The rally yesterday came as the annual Tanner Gun Show returns to Denver this weekend. The nearly 50-year-old gun show will be held at the Denver Merchandise Mart. There will be nearly 700 tables of guns, knives and accessories.

Jeff Brown, organizer of the gun show, pointed out that Colorado already closed a loophole by requiring background checks at gun shows.

Brown does not believe stricter and more widespread background checks can truly protect the country against gun violence, such as the recent shooting spree in Tucson that took the lives of six people and seriously injured a U.S. Congresswoman.

"They need to enforce the laws that are on the books," said Brown. "In most cases, the laws that are on the books would have N to the extent that they would have applied to the situation N if they had just enforced the laws on the books, it would have had the same effect. I don’t know that adding more restrictions is really going to change anything."

But gun control advocates say there is public support for background check reforms.

Morse reminded Coloradans that the state just this week laid to rest a Limon police officer who was shot last week by a fugitive sex offender.

"A week ago, a sex offender used a gun he wasn’t legally allowed to own to murder Jay Sheridan, a police officer in Limon," said Morse. "I’m proud that our state passed some tough laws after Columbine. But until we have a real background check system that keeps guns away from criminals and unbalanced people, this will happen again and again."