While he attempts to put pressure on Congress to pass federal measures that would increase gun control, President Obama is visiting Colorado today to draw attention to its recently passed gun control laws.
Despite the state's tradition of hunting and historically highly valued gun ownership rights, Colorado expanded its restrictions on magazines and expanded background checks with a bill passed two weeks ago. Obama will visit community leaders and law enforcement officers not far from Aurora, where James Holmes killed 12 people in a movie theater last summer (prosecutors announced this week that they would pursue the death penalty for Holmes).
The President is advocating for Congress to at least vote on a ban of assault weapons, limits on large-capacity ammunition magazines, and universal background checks on gun buyers. The background check requirement is the most important component of the law to gun control advocates, and while the issue divides congress, 90 percent of Americans polled in public surveys support expanded background checks.
Obama has made a series of high-profile appearances over the past few weeks to advocate for gun control. As he called for legislation last week, he stood with 21 mothers who have lost their children to gun violence, saying: "I haven't forgotten those kids."
[ABC, image via AP]