After more than five hours of debate, Colorado's democratically-controlled House gave their preliminary approval to a bill that would limit the size of ammunition magazines to 15 rounds and universal background checks.
"These high-capacity weapons have no place outside the fields of war," said Rep. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, who sponsored the bill limiting magazines.
The bill passed on a voice vote, though the actual recorded number of votes won't be known until Monday.
House Bill 1224 turned out not to be uniformly supported by Democrats however. Rep. Ed Vigil, a Democrat who represents Fort Garland, Colo. argued against the bill and called instead for making mental health treatment more readily available.
"We should be going down the path of making mental health available to people who really need it," Vigil said.
Two Colorado-based companies also said Friday that they would be leaving the state if the ammunition limits bill passed. Denver-based Alfred Manufacturing and Colorado's largest high-capacity ammunition magazine manufacturer said they had frozen all plans of expanding their Colorado market and would leave if HB 1224 passed.
House Bill 1229, a bill requiring background checks of Coloradans who buy from private dealers, also won initial approval in the House.
Under Colorado law, people who buy guns from licensed dealers already undergo background checks but private sales between individuals is not subject to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation's background check.
As of Friday night, the House was still deliberating on House Bill 1226, a bill that would ban concealed carry on college campuses.
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