Bill banning purchase, sale and transfer of so-called assault weapons in Colorado clears its first hurdle
A similar measure was rejected in its first committee hearing in the Colorado legislature last year. And House Bill 1292 still faces a steep hill toward becoming law.

Abill that would ban the purchase, sale and transfer of a broad swath of semi-automatic firearms, defined in the measure as assault weapons, cleared its first hurdle at the Colorado Capitol just after midnight Wednesday.
That’s already further in the legislative process than a similar piece of legislation made it last year.
The Colorado House Judiciary Committee advanced House BIll 1292 on a 7-3, party-line vote to the full House. (Rep. Marc Snyder, a Manitou Springs Democrat who sits on the House Judiciary Committee, was excused.)
The vote came after 12-plus hours of emotional and heated testimony from opponents and proponents of the bill that began on Tuesday morning. Hundreds of people signed up to share their opinions and experiences with the panel.
Read more from Jesse Paul at ColoradoSun.com
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