Colorado Democratic lawmakers killed an ambitious bill Thursday that would have banned the sale and transfer of semiautomatic firearms, citing promises made to their constituents and concerns over the sweep of the ban even in a state still reeling from a mass shooting in Colorado Springs months earlier.
Washington state's Democratic-controlled Statehouse cleared a ban on semiautomatic rifles Wednesday, joining the blue bastions of California and New York. But Colorado's Democratic-controlled Legislature was split on the issue, underscoring the state's purple roots, tensions between urban and rural constituents, and an ongoing push-and-pull between progressive and moderate Democrats that has defined this year's legislative session.
