


"They will be allowed to have their constitutional right back," Buck said. "There is a big difference between an income-tax felon and a homicide felon."


The impact of that law in unclear. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation, which conducts the criminal background checks necessary for gun purchases in the state, doesn't specifically track nonviolent felonies among its reported denials. In 2012, a total of 7,362 gun background checks were denied due to criminal records and mental illness adjudications, according to CBI data.


"It is something he feels needs to be brought to attention," Perry Buck said.





"There hasn't been any opposition yet," Perry Buck said, though the bill was submitted only this week.


Dave Kopel of the Independence Institute, a Colorado libertarian-leaning think tank, said if state lawmakers are serious about a true "gun-control debate," then this bill should be part of that conversation.

"I think the general approach is probably correct," Kopel said. "At a time of expending background checks and who isn't allowed to have a gun, it is reasonable to reform the prohibited persons categories."




"Right now, it is just too harsh," Buck said.
