Colorado sheriff will 'ignore' Colorado gun control laws

A Colorado sheriff has said that he would ignore any new gun control laws coming out of the state legislature.

Despite recent tragedies in the state, Weld County Sheriff John Cooke told The Greeley Tribune on Monday that the new laws from the Democratic legislature limiting ammunition magazines were simply giving the community a false sense of security.

"They're feel-good, knee-jerk reactions that are unenforceable," the Tribune quoted Cooke saying.

The Colorado sheriff's comments were contrasted by the Gun Violence Prevention Sabbath Weekend March 14-27 held at the Washington National Cathedral.

This group faith panel was held between Christian ministers intent on discussing how faith communities can play a role in reducing gun violence. The pro-gun control group, Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence, organized that meeting.

For his part the sheriff contends that new proposed restrictions, such as requiring a $10 background check to legally transfer a gun, would not be helpful since criminals will always "get their guns."

Two of the tentative laws in question passed both Democratic controlled chambers of the Colorado legislature last week. The first is a ban on all ammunition magazines containing more than 15 rounds.

"These are weapons that should be used in a theater of war and not in our local theaters," House Representative Rhonda Fields, a sponsor of the bill, from the Democratic Party said on the House floor Wednesday.

Fields, whose district encompasses the Aurora movie theater that suffered the devastating mass-shooting last July, has for months pushed for the bill.

Also, a bill requiring universal background checks for all gun sales passed mostly along party lines on Friday.

Both bills are expected to be signed into law by Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper.

Colorado is currently at the forefront of the gun control debate. Considered a political battleground state, Colorado lawmakers are acting in response to the state's long and horrific history with gun violence.

Last July at a Century movie theater in Aurora, a gunman armed with numerous firearms murdered 12 people and injured 58 others. This followed the 1999 Columbine High School mass-shootings in which two gunmen killed 13 people and injured an additional 24 others.

If passed, the laws will make Colorado the second state, following New York, to limit rounds per magazine since the tragic shootings in Newtown, Connecticut on Dec. 14, 2012.

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