Colorado

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Democratic leaders in three big states have used this summer’s mass shooting in Colorado to push bills that would crack down on assault weapons and ammunition sales, rekindling a debate that has not gained much traction in Congress or on the presidential campaign.

In Illinois, Gov. Pat Quinn proposed that his state enact a strict ban on assault weapons, similar to California’s. New York lawmakers have proposed wide-ranging legislation that would limit weapons purchases.

Attorneys for James Holmes, the suspect in the Colorado movie theater shooting, said today in court that their client is mentally ill, but the biggest question for Holmes' victims is whether it all could have been prevented.

DENVER (AP) - Firearms sales are surging in the wake of the Colorado movie theater massacre as buyers express fears that anti-gun politicians may use the shootings to seek new restrictions on owning weapons.

In Colorado, the site of Friday's shooting that killed 12 and injured dozens of others, gun sales jumped in the three days that followed. The state approved background checks for 2,887 people who wanted to purchase a firearm - 25 percent more than the average Friday to Sunday period in 2012 and 43 percent more than the same interval the week prior.

(CBS News) AURORA, Colo. -- The largest mass shooting in U.S. history might have been much worse, had the alleged assailant's gun not jammed, according to reports.

James Holmes was due to make his first court appearance Monday since allegedly killing 12 people and wounding dozens, nine critically, during a midnight screening on the opening night of "The Dark Knight Rises" Friday in the Denver suburb of Aurora, Colo.

Holmes is accused of entering the theatre with three guns, including a semi-automatic assault rifle with an extended magazine.