A state Senate committee Monday advanced a bill repealing Colorado’s ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines.
The law has been the subject of court challenges and recalls since it passed two years ago as part of a package of gun control legislation.
Numerous witnesses told the committee that the ban is unenforceable and puts law-abiding gun owners in danger.
"I want my students to have as many rounds as possible to defend themselves, because the rats come out at night, and they travel in packs," said Elizabeth Blackwood, a firearms instructor in El Paso County.
On the other side, relatives of shooting victims testified their loved ones might have had a chance to escape if their assailant was only armed with smaller magazines. Sandy Phillips’ daughter, Jessica Ghawi was killed in the 2012 Aurora theater attack.
"Tell me, the mother of one of the dead, that it’s inconvenient to have to reload after 15 rounds," Ghawi said.
The repeal of the large magazine ban is expected to pass the state Senate, but likely to fail in the Democratic-controlled House.
