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Lawmakers Deny Additional Funding For Gun Background Checks

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Colorado lawmakers have denied a request for nearly $500,000 to help with a backlog of applications for background checks required to purchase firearms. The Colorado Department of Investigation reported needed the funding to handle a dramatic increase in gun applications since the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn. There are 10,000 background checks waiting to be processed. 

It previously took only about an hour for a background check to be completed. Wait time is now about a week. One Republican joined three Democrats in a committee hearing today to deny the request.

The bureau processed 38,781 background checks in November. In December, the month of the Connecticut shootings, checks increased to 57,878.

My journalism career started in college when I worked as a reporter and Weekend Edition host for WEKU-FM, an NPR member station in Richmond, KY. I graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a B.A. in broadcast journalism.
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