The Senate approves an update to Connecticut’s strong gun laws, and it’s the first since the sweeping reforms enacted a decade ago in response to the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School was passed by the Senate 24-11 early Saturday.
Gov. Ned Lamont’s bill would expand a 1993 and 2013 ban on AR-15s and other so-called assault weapons, strengthen rules for gun storage and reporting stolen firearms, and prohibit the open carry of firearms.
The Democratic mayors of Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, and Waterbury, where 80% of all shootings in Connecticut occur, have advocated for a stricter approach to gun crimes, as reflected in the measure.
With dedicated court dockets, higher thresholds for bail and probation, and harsher penalties, the bill would, at the mayors’ request, target what they described as a relatively small group of repeat gun offenders.
Last week, the House approved the bill by a vote of 96 to 51, with seven Republicans in favor and five Democrats opposed. Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, in the Senate, joined 23 Republicans in favor. Sen. Cathy Osten of Sprague, a Democrat, did not vote.
A request for a temporary restraining order made by gun owners was denied by a federal judge even before the bill was finally passed. Expect to face additional difficulties.
Sen. Rob Sampson, a Republican from Wolcott, stated, “This bill is ripe for a legal challenge.”
Sen. Eric Berthel, a Republican from Watertown, stated, “I firmly believe that every new gun law we impose in Connecticut is simply another infringement on what I believe are our constitutional rights under the Second Amendment.”
The Second Amendment does not prohibit Congress or the states from regulating the sale and ownership of firearms, as the Supreme Court has ruled. Multiple state and federal court challenges to Connecticut’s gun laws have been unsuccessful.
The arguments in favor of and against the passage were well-established. Opponents of the Republican Party complained that the General Assembly is too focused on guns rather than the people who misuse them.
Sen. John Kissel, R-Enfield, stated, “It’s just more gun regulations on law-abiding people.” And what’s it going to do? Not a heck of a lot. I feel bad. Prove me wrong. But every year, I come back, and I’m not proven wrong.”
Sen. Lisa Seminara, a Republican from Avon, stated, “Sadly, this bill does nothing to address actual gun crime in urban and poverty-stricken areas where true reform is so desperately needed” and does not improve the enforcement of Connecticut’s already stringent gun laws.
Democrats countered that a developing collection of examinations shows that the states with the most grounded weapon security laws have the least pace of suicides and murders by guns. Suicide accounts for the majority of gun deaths.
Sen. Derek Slap, a Democrat from D-West Hartford, stated, “This bill is going to save lives.”
Sen. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor, a doctor, said the bill is a general well-being measure that forces “sensible steps.”
Anwar stated, “Please relax; this bill is not taking away anyone’s gun.” But it’s doing some common sense things which are data-driven, helping to ensure the risks are lower.”
In addition to other things, the bill would control the offer of body reinforcement to regular people, by and large breaking point the offer of handguns to three in any one month, increment preparing necessities for firearm license holders, and raise the base age to buy a semiautomatic rifle from 18 to 21, similar limit as handguns.
If registered with the police, AR-15s purchased before the bans can still be legally owned. However, it closes a “loophole” that, according to its proponents, permitted the legal sale of weapons manufactured before 1994.
According to Connecticut Against Gun Violence executive director Jeremy Stein, the bill also prohibits the online sale of kits used to assemble “ghost guns,” which are firearms that lack a serial number and are largely untraceable.
Stein stated, “We want to make sure our gun laws aren’t bypassed,”
On Friday, National Wear Orange Day commemorating gun violence, the debate began at 9 p.m. It concluded seven hours later, at 4 a.m., Hwang, the only Republican to vote for the bill, invoked Sandy Hook. The Newtown village of Sandy Hook is in his district.
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Children all over the country are traumatized by the specter of gun violence, according to Sen. Ceci Maher, D-Wilton, the former director of Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit founded by the parents of two boys who were killed at Sandy Hook.
“They do not feel safe in their schools. They do not feel safe at rock concerts. They do not feel safe at religious institutions,” Maher said. “This is not acceptable. How can we continue to allow guns in our society and our schools?”
With universal background checks required to purchase a firearm or ammunition and the nation’s earliest risk warrant law, Connecticut has some of the strongest gun safety laws in the country. Additionally, Connecticut permits the seizure of firearms from individuals who threaten themselves or others.
After Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Hawaii, the state has the lowest rate of gun suicides per capita.
The last section comes a day after previous officials behind the 1993 regulation celebrated its 30th anniversary, noticing the political changes that have made gun control in Connecticut a protected issue.
One of the key sponsors of the law, Michael P. Lawlor, stated, “The fact that Connecticut passed this law in ’93 opened the door for more progress.” It showed legislators that you could come up, vote in favor of these proposals, and survive politically.”
Lamont went to the celebration.
“I think what you guys did 30 years ago makes a difference,” Lamont said. “Every day, we have to continue to build upon that legacy. And that’s what we’re trying to do, you know, recently in the House and soon to be in the Senate.”
