DENVER -- A bill to make manufacturers and sellers of assault-style weapons in Colorado liable for crimes committed with their guns passed a state Senate committee Monday night.

Under Senate Bill 196, sponsored by Senate President John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, manufacturers and sellers of semiautomatic rifles could be sued for violent acts committed with the guns if they "negligently entrusted" an assault-style weapon to someone whom they "reasonably should have known might use the weapon" to cause harm.

Randy Barnhart, a Denver product-liability and personal-injury lawyer who testified in support of the bill, compared the legislation to laws holding a father responsible for the injuries caused when a teenager takes his car out for a joyride and is in an accident.

"We hold people responsible for the conduct of others all the time," Barnhart said, adding, though, that is not the case with semiautomatic rifles, which have special legal protections....

Read More: http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_22716905/colorado-gun-bills-senate-committee-takes-up-liability?source=pkg