State Senator Kills Gun Control Bill
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Saying he owed it to fellow Marines, a Democratic state lawmaker and Vietnam veteran joined Republicans to kill a bill that would have raised the age for handgun purchases in Colorado from 18 to 21.
Colorado’s gun laws came under scrutiny after the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, in which two teenagers killed 13 people and then committed suicide.
Sen. Jim Dyer, a Democrat from Durango, said he fought alongside too many people under 21 to take away their right to buy a gun.
“I owe my life to people I trusted,” Dyer said.
Passage would have required the support of all 18 Senate Democrats, who hold a one-vote edge over the Republicans. Individual votes were not recorded, but when Dyer stood to vote no, supporters knew the bill was dead.
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