by Christian Wade
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont wants to tighten the state’s gun control laws to prevent mass shootings, but the move is facing pushback from Second Amendment groups which say it would be unconstitutional.
Lamont’s proposal, which will be unveiled as part of this preliminary budget proposal, calls for increasing the age to buy firearms to 21, closing “loopholes in the state’s assault weapons ban and prohibiting the sale of large-capacity firearm magazines.”
Lamont said the “commonsense” changes come in response to a spate of mass shootings nationwide. He said the state’s gun control laws have “not kept up with the innovative ways firearm companies are manufacturing guns that have the sole purpose of killing the largest number of humans within the shortest amount of time.”
“I want to be clear – we are not talking about guns that have been created for hunting or protection, but rather the focus here is on assault weapons that are being created for mass human casualty,” the Democrat said in a statement.
“We’ve shown in Connecticut that we can implement laws that respect the rights of Americans to own guns for their own protection and sportsmanship while also acknowledging that we must take actions to protect public safety,” he added.
But the move is already facing pushback from gun rights groups who say the proposed changes are unconstitutional and won’t reduce violent crime.
The Connecticut Citizens Defense League said it agrees urban violence is a “major problem that must be addressed,” but said Lamont’s proposals “not only fall short of fixing the issue, but present flawed and misdirected policies that will actually worsen the very urban crime wave the governor claims to be addressing.”
“Instead of looking to the Legislature to pass more duplicate of laws which primarily attack law abiding citizens, the governor should look to our courts to prosecute violent crimes to the full extend the law and keep file and the fenders off our streets,” Holly Sullivan, the group’s president, said in a statement.
The group said laws limiting firearm transfers, like the one being proposed by Lamont, can have “tragic consequences” and pointed out that straw purchases – where a licensed individual buys a firearm for someone who is restricted – are already prohibited under federal and state laws.
“There are scores of reasons that simultaneous lawful transfers are necessary,” Sullivan said. “An individual experiencing a mental health episode and seeking to temporarily relinquish possession of several firearms to another trusted individual or to a federal firearms licensee would be prohibited from doing so.”
The group is suing Connecticut in federal court in an attempt to overturn the prohibition on what they call “modern sporting arms,” such as AR-15 long rifles.
House Republican Leader Vincent Candelora said Lamont and Democratic lawmakers are pitching “a familiar path to an ‘everybody problem’ by offering proposals that will again have law-abiding gun owners carrying most of the freight.”
“Missing from their news conference was any talk about focusing on the people who are squarely responsible for causing mayhem in our communities,” he said.
To be sure, Connecticut already has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation, including universal background checks for firearm purchases and permits for the purchase of firearms and ammunition. The state also bans certain long rifles and large-capacity magazines used in Sandy Hook and other mass shootings.
Many of the restrictions were put in place following the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, when a gunman killed six adults and 20 children in one of the worst mass shootings in the nation’s history.
A 2019 state law requires “ghost guns” to be registered with the state, but only those assembled after the law took effect.
Lamont’s proposal, which will require legislative approval, calls for increasing funding for violence intervention programs, strengthening a state ban on untraceable “ghost guns” banning open carry of firearms and limiting gun purchases to one a month to discourage illegal resales.
“There have been way too many mass shootings across our country and innocent people are losing their lives,” state Sen. Herron Gaston, co-chair of the legislature’s Public Safety and Security Committee, said in a statement. “We need to work to close the loopholes in our system and strengthen our purchasing laws surrounding all firearms.”
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Christian Wade is a contributor to The Center Square.
Photo “Ned Lamont” by Ned Lamont. Background Photo “Connecticut State Capitol” by jglazer75. CC BY 2.0.
