Senate committee hears testimony on gun control bills

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — A couple who survived last year's mass shooting in Las Vegas were among those asking a Senate panel to pass a slate of gun control bills that include measures to prohibit high capacity magazines and to ban so-called bump stocks, trigger modification devices designed to accelerate the rate of fire of a firearm.

Opponents to the measures told lawmakers on the Senate Law and Justice Committee that law-abiding gun owners will be punished by the bills.

Monday's two-hour hearing drew nearly 1,000 people, leading security to set up additional overflow committee rooms for a mix of people wearing orange shirts or scarves and stickers "Gun Responsibility Now!" and others wearing shirts that read "NRA Stand and Fight.