DENVER (AP) – A Colorado proposal to eliminate state background checks for firearm purchases has been tentatively approved by the Republican state House.

The bill would end checks done by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Republican Rep. Mark Waller, who sponsored the bill, said the state is spending unnecessarily on its background check program. Walker says the background checks duplicate ones already done federally.

A state review found that getting rid of the state background checks could save almost $2 million a year.

Many Democrats oppose the idea because they say Colorado’s program is more thorough than the FBI’s background check.

The bill passed on a preliminary House vote Monday. It faces one more vote in the House before it heads to the Senate.

LINK: House Bill 1048

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