27 June 2014 - Colorado gun control laws
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New Colorado gun control laws upheld by federal judge
Ryan Parker (The Chicago Tribune)
A federal judge in Colorado dismissed a lawsuit Thursday that aimed to overturn the state’s new gun control laws.
U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger said the two laws – expanded background checks that include private firearm sales and limiting the amount of bullets a magazine can hold – do not infringe on 2nd Amendment rights.
The plaintiffs included numerous sheriffs who were involved in the suit as private citizens after a judge ruled that they could not sue the state in their official capacity.
“The judge today offered a thorough and reasoned opinion and recognized that the state’s new gun laws do not unduly burden anyone’s 2nd Amendment rights,” Eric Brown, spokesman for Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper, said in a statement.
The sheriffs said their fight was far from over, and promised to appeal.
Read on...
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Local
Staff (The Denver Post)
U.S. District Chief Judge Marcia Krieger dismantled with welcome precision Thursday the arguments of those seeking to overturn Colorado's new gun laws.
Consider the ban on large-capacity magazines. Despite the law's broad scope, Krieger explains, "the statute's impact on a person's ability to keep and bear (use) firearms for the purpose of self-defense is not severe. Unlike the restriction considered [by the Supreme Court] in Heller, this statute does not ban any firearm nor does it render any firearm useless. Semiautomatic weapons can be used for self-defense in and outside of the home. ... The only limitation imposed is how frequently they must reload their weapons."
And how big of a restriction is that? Krieger says testimony established that instances when gun owners need to defend themselves or others by firing more than 15 rounds are extremely rare. In short, it simply "does not materially reduce the ability of a person to use a semiautomatic firearm for self-defense."
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Analysis
David Freedlander (The Daily Beast)
John Hickenlooper, who a year ago pushed through meaningful gun-control laws after horrible mass shootings, recently denounced his measures before a rural sheriffs group. Why now?
How dire is the political situation for supporters of gun control?
Consider the case of Colorado, which saw two horrific mass shootings in the past 20 years, and in response, passed meaningful gun-control legislation last year.
But last week, Colorado Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper, who made those measures a centerpiece of his first term, backed swiftly away from them in a meeting with a group of county sheriffs.
Read on...
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Context
Jeffrey Sparshott (The Wall Street Journal)
President Barack Obama on Thursday said Congress’s failure to pass legislation mandating new background checks ahead of gun purchases was his “most disappointing” moment with lawmakers.
The White House and Congress have had their share of standoffs, including testy hearings over the Internal Revenue Service and Benghazi, debt-ceiling showdowns and a budget impasse that led to a partial government shutdown.
But Mr. Obama said the December 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School was “probably the worst day of my presidency” and the failure to enact a background-check law afterward was “probably the most disappointing moment that I had with Congress.”
The massacre in Newtown, Conn., killed 20 students and six school officials.
Mr. Obama, speaking at a town hall in Minneapolis, said he was sure that the Newtown shooting would lead to a breakthrough on gun legislation. Instead, lawmakers shied away from the legislation in the face of opposition from the National Rifle Association and gun makers, he said.
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"27 June 2014 - Colorado gun control laws", La Clé des Langues [en ligne], Lyon, ENS de LYON/DGESCO (ISSN 2107-7029), juin 2014. Consulté le 20/04/2024. URL: https://cle.ens-lyon.fr/anglais/key-story/archives-revue-de-presse-2014/27-june-2014-colorado-gun-control-laws