Credit: AP

Gov. John Hickenlooper signed new restrictions on firearms in Colorado into law Wednesday, exactly eight months to the day after the shooting massacre at an Aurora movie theater.

This was on the heels of Hickenlooper's press conference about the death of Colorado Department of Corrections Director Tom Clements, who was gunned down at his home near Monument.

The sister of one of the victims at the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was in attendance.

The bills require background checks for private and online gun sales and ban ammunition magazines that hold more than 15 rounds. Hickenlooper is signing the bills Wednesday in his office.

The new laws signal a historic change for Democrats who traditionally shied away from a battle over gun-control in a state where owning a gun is as common as owning a car in some rural areas.

Hickenlooper, a gun rights advocate, said he felt more controls were needed in the aftermath of shootings in Connecticut and Aurora, Colo.