Colorado governor signs new gun restrictions into law

DENVER -- Gov. John Hickenlooper signed bills Wednesday that place new restrictions on firearms in Colorado, a state with a pioneer tradition of gun ownership and self-reliance.

The bills, passed by Democrats in the State Legislature who traditionally shied away from gun control debate, were signed exactly eight months after dozens of people were shot in a movie theater in suburban Denver. The measures require background checks for private and online gun sales and ban ammunition magazines that hold more than 15 rounds.

At the signing ceremony, Hickenlooper was surrounded by lawmakers who sponsored the bills.

Every time he signed a bill, applause erupted from lawmakers and their guests. Among them were families of the victims of last year's mass shootings in Aurora and Newtown, Conn. They included Jane Dougherty, whose sister was killed in a deadly attack at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, and Sandy Phillips, whose daughter Jessica Ghawi was killed in Aurora.

"You've given us a real gift today," Phillips told the governor. Dougherty went up to Hickenlooper to thank him with tears in her eyes.

The bills thrust Colorado into the national spotlight as a potential test of how far the country might be willing to go on new restrictions after the horror of the Newtown and Aurora shootings.

This month, Washington state's Democrat-controlled House couldn't advance a universal background check bill. In New Mexico, a bill requiring background checks at gun shows failed in the Democrat-led legislature. -- AP