Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet issued the following statement on the failure of a bipartisan amendment in the Senate to expand background checks to prevent criminals and the mentally ill from obtaining firearms.
“In Colorado, we support the Second Amendment right to bear arms and people’s ability to hunt and to protect their families and homes. We have also experienced two of the most tragic instances of gun violence in our country’s history. The debate is not about challenging the rights of responsible gun owners, it is about keeping the wrong weapons out of the hands of the wrong people. Senators Manchin and Toomey reached a compromise that would have helped us achieve that goal by expanding background checks to prevent criminals and the mentally ill from obtaining firearms. It’s more than disappointing that a minority of senators blocked this amendment.”