In a move to further pressure Congress to take up White House-proposed gun control measures, President Obama remarked in Denver on Wednesday that action on federally required background checks could come as soon as next week.
The president touted Colorado’s legislature and Gov. John Hickenlooper for taking quick steps following mass violence in Aurora and around the country to, “do something about it.”
“I don’t believe that weapons designed for theaters of war have a place in movie theaters,” Obama said.
Hickenlooper signed two notable bills into law on March 20, requiring universal background checks and a limit on high-capacity magazines in the state.
“I think that Colorado has shown that practical progress is possible,” Obama said.
After calling background checks a, “common sense proposal,” Obama said that 90 percent of Americans “agree on” universal background checks.
“We’ve got to get Congress to take the next step,” Obama said. “As soon as next week every senator will get to vote on whether or not we should require background checks on anyone who wants to purchase a gun.”
Although background checks are already required to some extent, Obama said that loopholes allow criminals to avoid them.
A bill that would have banned concealed carry handguns from college campuses was killed by sponsor Sen. Rollie Heath because it did not have the votes to pass, Heath said Wednesday afternoon. It was the only Colorado gun bill directly related to campuses.
Contact CU Independent Copy Editor Alison Noon at Alison.noon@colorado.edu.