Colorado Democrats want to hold gunmakers liable in attacks

Ferrandino acknowledged that the proposals "we introduce today will not bring all gun violence to a screeching halt," but insisted the plans would reduce shootings.

Republicans argued that what Democrats are proposing would not have prevented any of the recent mass shootings and that universal background checks are unenforceable without a registry of all firearms.

"The extreme liberal wing of the ruling class would rather make us criminals, than allow us to protect our families from criminals," said Sen. Bill Cadman, the Republican's Senate leader.

Bill Hoover, 83, whose grandson AJ Boik was among those killed in Aurora, said he supports the idea of more background checks and new liability standards. He said he believes stricter background checks would have made it more difficult for the Aurora shooter to get his firearms.

"The background check portion of it, AJ would still be alive, I believe," he said, holding a picture of Boik to his chest. "I firmly believe that."

Find Ivan Moreno and Kristen Wyatt on Twitter: http://twitter.com/IvanJourno and http://twitter.com/APkristenwyatt