A Brunswick legislator is proposing to require background checks for firearms purchasers at gun shows — one of several measures aimed at limiting gun violence being considered in the Capitol.

Gun control supporters believe the killings of 20 children and six educators at a school in Newtown, Conn., will provide political momentum as Maine lawmakers take up a series of bills that cover the public display of firearms, background checks, concealed weapons permits and other gun-related practices.

Up for public hearings Monday were proposals by Senate President Justin Alfond to ban the sale of high-capacity magazines. Another bill by Sen. Stan Gerzofsky, D-Brunswick, proposed to close the socalled “gun show loophole” by requiring background checks for sales at gun shows.

More bills will be heard over the course of the week.

“The massacre in Newtown shook this country to its core. We can no longer put off having these charged conversations,” Alfond said in a statement. “Times have changed and this gun debate is different. Now is the time to do something.”

Bill Harwood, Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence founder, told the Portland Press Herald that the Connecticut shootings were a tipping point for many citizens when it comes to gun restrictions.

But David Trahan, executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, said he believes some of the proposals go too far.

“Most people support common-sense regulations,” he said. “But some of the (proposed) laws come pretty close to stamping out individual freedoms.”

Other firearms bills up for discussion before the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee would prohibit the state from enforcing stricter gun regulations imposed by the federal government and clarify situations where public display of a weapon could be a crime.

On Thursday, the Legislature’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee will hold public hearings on two bills related to improving school security procedures and safety standards for school construction.