Colorado State Senate President John Morse
Colorado Senate President John Morse's new bill may determine how far Democrats are willing to go on gun control.
Morse's bill, which would hold makers and sellers of assault-style weapons liable for the crimes committed with the guns, was rolled out Wednesday, weeks after the introduction of four other gun-related bills, all of which passed the Democrat-controlled House. Those bills are now headed to the Senate.
But it's unclear whether Senate Bill 196, which Morse has labeled the Assault Weapon Responsibility Act, will have the same momentum behind it as the House's package.
Democrats hold a 20-15 advantage in the state Senate and need 18 votes to pass a bill. However, at least two Democrats have reservations about Morse's bill.
"I think we may be going too far on liability," said state Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Thornton. "I have no problem with a person being liable in the commission of a crime, but to keep going back to where that weapon came from may go a little too far."
Sen. Cheri Jahn, D-Wheat Ridge, was more blunt.
"It doesn't sound like something I'd support," Jahn said.
If Tochtrop and Jahn didn't support the bill, Democrats might still have 18 votes — unless another Democrat were to drop off, too.
But will Gov. John Hickenlooper, the state's most powerful Democrat and an ally of business, sign the bill?
Eric Brown, a spokesman for Hickenlooper, said the governor's office is still reviewing the measure.
Morse's approach on the bill is notable because he enlisted the help of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Morse says the bill he has written will not conflict with federal law that bans lawsuits against gun manufacturers or sellers.
Jonathan Lowy, director of the center's legal-action project, said the federal law specifically allows for lawsuits if guns are knowingly sold in violation of federal or state law. In this case, the state law that could be violated would be Morse's bill, legislation that requires guns to be sold with "the highest degree of care."
Morse said that standard would have to be decided by a jury.
"Courts do that every day" in other tort cases, Lowy said. "You'll see judges and juries applying exactly that sort of standard."
But Dave Kopel, a University of Denver law-school professor and a gun-rights supporter, said the bill is nothing but "a clever attempt to evade the (federal) statute."
"The point of the federal lawsuit is to ban lawsuits against gun companies for properly functioning guns," Kopel said.
He also said the bill's definition of "assault weapons" includes double-barreled shotguns and even some single-shot rifles.
"The gun definitions are written by people who know nothing about guns and have crazy results," Kopel said.