Aurora theater shooting: Diana DeGette pushes bill to restrict online ammo sales

By Sam Levin Tue., Aug. 7 2012 at 2:59 PM

A few days after the Aurora shooting, DeGette -- who represents and Denver and has pushed gun control measures since she first arrived in Congress sixteen years ago -- called on Congress to pass a ban on high-capacity ammunition clips, noting that the gunman entered the theater with multiple weapons, including a semiautomatic weapon and a 100-round magazine.

Sam Levin

Sign from the first Aurora vigil after the movie theater shooting.

Her office intentionally waited a few days to make these statements, Cohen says.

"The attention has to be on victims and support for the community," she says. "That's of the utmost importance."

Cohen says she is hopeful that Congress could ultimately agree on some of these measures. "There's definitely support building for common-sense gun measures," she says, adding, in reference to the Wisconsin shooting, "The fact that we are looking at more deaths over the weekend will hopefully encourage the committee to move [forward]."

Asked about Hickenlooper's stance on gun control, Cohen says, "We certainly hope that the governor will be a partner in our efforts."

And what about Obama?

"We intend to engage the administration in this conversation as well. The President can be a powerful voice in helping move legislation," she says, adding that she doesn't want to speculate on whether the bill will ultimately get the Obama's support.

Interestingly, Representative Ed Perlmutter, one of the first local elected officials to speak out about gun control after the theater shooting, is not officially supporting DeGette's effort yet.

Perlmutter immediately called for a reinstatement of the assaults weapon ban, but his office tells us he is now looking into DeGette's proposal.

A spokesman wrote in an e-mail yesterday: "Rep. Perlmutter wants to mitigate the problem of anonymously purchasing unlimited ammunition over the internet. He is evaluating whether the Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act is the best way to achieve that goal."

Follow Sam Levin on Twitter at @SamTLevin. E-mail the author at Sam.Levin@Westword.com.

Tags:

Aurora, Diana DeGette, Ed Perlmutter, gun control, James Holmes, John Hickenlooper, online ammunition sales, theater shooting

We Recommend

Juan_Leg topcommenter

Are tax payers responsible for feeding her ?

Perhaps that's one way we can address this

$450,000,000, Denver Public School, bond issue......

BrianMartinez

Edge cases make bad laws. I'm surprised she didn't name it after one of the victims; that always seems to be the case when introducing legislation like this. It won't stop lunatics from shooting up movie theaters, but will do a great job of hassling people who just want to buy ammo in builk for their shooting range sessions. But naming it after dead people would make it seem Very Important.

Juan_Leg topcommenter

@BrianMartinez

I agree w/ you completely.

The timing couldn't have been

any better as well....

zman8465

When is this cow going to retire?

Monkey

Holmes bought all his equipment over 2 months, meaning he could have purchased 13,000 rounds under this silly proposed rule without being reported to police, 1000 every 5 days. But avid shooters who buy in bulk to save money are reported to police, for no reason. Does anyone really think internet ammo sales are thriving because of mass murderers? Did Holmes have anywhere near 1000 rounds on him when he entered the theatre? Would it have been any different if he had only purchased the bullets he used during the crime? What is police going to do with a list of people who purchased bulk ammunition legally? It seems like public places are a target for mass murderers, how come no one is talking about banning people from gathering in public? Wouldn't that save us from ourselves better than banning internet ammo sales.