A gun control package pushed by Colorado Democrats has cleared the state Senate after a full day of emotional debate.
The Senate gave final approval to five bills restricting gun rights, reacting to mass shootings in a Colorado movie theater and a Connecticut elementary school.
The bills include a 15-round limit on ammunition magazines, expanded background checks, and a ban on gun ownership for people accused of domestic violence crimes.
The package cleared the Senate after Democrats abandoned two of the most divisive gun controls - a bill to ban guns on college campuses and another to make gun owners and sellers legally liable for the weapons.
Most of the bills must head to the House for further debate.
Celebs weigh in on gun control debate
Celebrities and survivors of shootings gathered in the nation's capital on Feb. 6 to urge lawmakers to act on firearm legislation. Take a look at the many famous faces who have weighed in on the gun control debate recently.
Celebs joined survivors of gun violence to support President Barack Obama's call for new gun-control laws at a press conference sponsored by the group Mayors Against Illegal Guns Feb. 6 in Washington, D.C. The event was part of the group's campaign Demand a Plan, which presses elected officials for action to protect citizens' right to safety and security.
Celebs joined survivors of gun violence to support President Barack Obama's call for new gun-control laws at a press conference sponsored by the group Mayors Against Illegal Guns Feb. 6 in Washington, D.C. The event was part of the group's campaign Demand a Plan, which presses elected officials for action to protect citizens' right to safety and security.
Chris rock spoke at the press conference on Feb. 6: "I am just here to support the President of the United States," Rock said. "The President of the United States is ... our boss. ... The president and the first lady are kind of like the mom and the dad of the country, and when your dad says something, you listen! And when you don't, it usually bites you in the ass later on."
Actress Amanda Peet's sister practices internal medicine at an inner-city hospital in North Philadelphia, which sees about 500 gunshot-wound victims per year. Peet stated at the Feb. 6 press conference: “Despite these numbers, some people believe my sister should be prohibited from asking her patients about guns in their homes,” she said. "Doctors can ask if their patients practice unsafe sex or use illicit drugs or have suicidal ideations or feel threatened in the home, but it’s illegal for them to discuss guns.”
Singer Tony Bennett also spoke at the press conference on Feb. 6: "I still haven't gotten over Connecticut. I'd like the assault weapons to go to war, not on our own country, and I'd like assault weapons eliminated."
Actor Adam Scott also spoke at the Feb. 6 news conference: "Along with thousands of other Americans that day, I felt helpless," he said. "These shootings are rapidly becoming part of our culture, something you almost anticipate hearing about when you turn on your television or your computer. But this one, it was clear to me ... that if we as a people don't act after Sandy Hook, then what's next?"
After the Newtown tragedy, celebrities like Beyonce filmed a PSA calling for stricter gun control measures as part of the Demand a Plan campaign from Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition.
Other celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow participated in the PSA, which also includes families of victims from the Aurora, Tucson and Virginia Tech tragedies.
In the video, celebrities like Jamie Foxx cite the names of the numerous recent mass shootings, then ask "How many more?"
Stars like Jon Hamm also participated in the PSA, which asks the public to "demand a plan" from "our leaders" to do something about gun violence.
Recently, Jim Carrey shared his thoughts on the issue via Twitter. "Any1 who would run out to buy an assault rifle after the Newtown massacre has very little left in their body or soul worth protecting," he wrote. After Fox News criticized the actor, he wrote Tuesday, "Yes, i agree with the ppl who argue that cars can be as deadly as guns but a car is a lot harder to get through the door of a classroom."
Actor Bruce Willis spoke out recently in an interview, stating that he is strongly against the call for new laws against firearms in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, Connecticut. “I think that you can't start to pick apart anything out of the Bill of Rights without thinking that it's all going to become undone,” Willis said. “If you take one out or change one law, then why wouldn't they take all your rights away from you?”
Actor Sylvester Stallone, who was a supporter of the 1994 “Brady Bill” which outlawed certain assault weapons, renewed his support of similar legislation, saying, “I know people get (upset) and go, ‘They're going to take away the assault weapon.’ Who needs an assault weapon? Like really, unless you're carrying out an assault." Stallone also added, “I think the biggest problem, seriously, is not so much guns, it's that every one of these people that have done these things in the past 30 years are friggin' crazy. And that's where we've dropped the ball: mental health.”
Both Stallone and Willis (pictured here with fellow action-movie star Mickey Rourke) agree that “No one commits a crime because they saw a film,” Willis said. "There's nothing to support that. We're not making movies about people that have gone berserk, or gone nuts. Those kind of movies wouldn't last very long at all.”
In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shooting, former reality show host Jesse James took to his Facebook page to express support for the National Riffle Association. James wrote about how he witnessed so many shootings that having a gun was the only thing that made him feel safe. "Since the 1980's California has led the nation with the strictest gun control laws. In the middle of this state I have seen more dead bodies than I can count," he wrote.
Rocker and gun advocate Ted Nugent has made several public statements in support of gun rights in recent weeks. He sat down for an interview with Piers Morgan in a Texas gun shop on Feb. 4 where he blasted Morgan over his apparent “obsession with guns” and told him to leave responsible American gun owners “the hell alone.” Nugent also recently spent a day shooting guns at a range with a CNN reporter.
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