| Rep.
Courtney Seeks to Weaken CT Gun Safety
Rep. Joe Courtney had signed on as a cosponsor
of HR 822, a bill hat would override the laws of Connecticut
and require us to accept concealed handgun permits from other
states. Why in the world would we want to do that? Why would
we want to allow people from other states who wouldn't qualify
for a permit in CT to carry concealed guns in CT when our
own residents can't do it without a CT permit?
CT does not allow out of state residents
to carry in Ct. We have very strict requirements for obtaining
a permit. We have far more prohibitions than do other states.
We require firearms safety training which some other states
do not. We give local law enforcement discretion to deny a
permit which most states don't. We have a "suitable person"
good character requirement which very few other states have.
A CT resident who does not meet all of these requirements
cannot get a permit to carry. But if this bill passes, out
of state residents who may meet none of these requirements
can. How does that make sense?
And what about the States' rights issue?
Mayors Bill Finch, Bridgeport; April Capone
Almon, East Haven; Scott Jackson, Hamden; Pedro Segarra, Hartford;
John De Stefano, New Haven; Richard Moccia, Norwalk; Scott
Slifka, West Hartford; and John Picard, West Haven, have opposed
this Concealed Carry Reciprocity Bill. So has the CT Police
Chiefs Association.
Rep. Courtney is the only member of our
CT Congressional Delegation to support it. How can Mr. Courtney
support this decision for CT residents who are concerned about
the public safety?
The 2011 Session
The 2011 legislative session in Hartford has
now ended. It was one of the most active sessions for gun-related
bills in CAGV memory. Our opposition proposed bills that would
have made our state less safe from gun violence.
Fortunately, we were able to stop these dishonorable
"bad bills." One such bill was the attempt to modify the language
of our state's assault weapons ban that would have legalized
select fire weapons like the one pictured here. The legislation
had very active support from gun rights activists but we were
able to stop the bill with help from key legislators like
Judiciary co-chair Gerald Fox and Rep. William Tong.
We also were able to defeat SB 967 that would
have taken away the local test of suitability of an applicant
before granting a gun permit. This is a critical control as
local law enforcement might have knowledge of important information
about the applicant that would not be apparent from standard
background checks.
The linchpin of our legislative effort, our
proposal to ban large capacity ammunition magazines like the
one used in January's mass shooting at Congresswoman Gabrielle
Gifford's political event in Tucson, failed. It failed in
large part because more than 200 gun rights activists showed
up at the public hearing to speak against the bill. We will
need more support in the next session in order to pass this
legislation that will keep our state safe from the ever increasing
fire power of dangerous weapons.
Two other bills, both proposed by Senate Majority
leader Martin Looney of New Haven, were intended to strengthen
our gun laws and make our communities safer. One would have
banned possession of ammunition by those prohibited from owning
guns. The second would have created a gun offender registry,
requiring those convicted of serious gun crimes to register
with local authorities when released from their sentences.
Neither bill passed as time for the session ran out, but both
were favorably considered by the Judiciary and Public Safety
Committees.
Banning Large Capacity Ammunition Magazines
in CT
Some time has passed now since the shootings
of Congressman Gabrielle Giffords and nine others in Arizona,
with six killed, including a nine year old girl, Christina
Taylor Green. The media have moved on; public attention has
waned. But at CT Against Gun Violence, the critical need to
address gun violence in Connecticut and across the nation
cannot stop.
Our current legislative proposal, SB 1094, An
Act Banning Large-capacity Ammunition Magazines (LCAM's) like
the one used in the Tucson shooting is in full stride This
legislation can directly save lives.
LCAM's turn ordinary guns into specialized killing
machines. In addition to the Tucson shooting, this type of
magazine was used in the Fort Hood shooting (13 killed, 34
wounded), the workplace shooting in Manchester CT last year
(9 killed, 2 wounded), Virginia Tech (32 killed, 17 wounded),
Columbine High School (13 killed, 23 wounded), and many, many
others.
There is no question that large capacity magazines
facilitated these mass shootings. According to Tucson law
enforcement, "There's absolutely no doubt the magazines increased
the lethality and body count of this attack." In just 30 seconds
the killer was able to fire thirty shots, hitting 20 people.
The damage was limited to the fire power of his magazine;
when it was empty, he was stopped. These magazines are useful
for criminals but not for hunting or self defense.. As TV
host Lawrence O'Donnell said after the shooting, "I blame
the shooter for the first ten people shot. I blame the law
for the rest." These magazines turn already dangerous weapons
into killing machines.
Dallas Green, former professional baseball pitcher
and manager of the New York Yankees, New York Mets, and Philadelphia
Phillies, who was also the grandfather of nine-year-old Christina
Taylor Green who was killed in the Tucson mass shooting, said
in an interview with the New York Post: "I guess the one thing
that I can't get through my mind, even though I'm a hunter
and I love to shoot a gun, I love to have my guns, I don't
have a Glock or whatever it is," Green said.
"I don't have a magazine with 33 bullets in
it. That doesn't make sense for me, to be able to sell those
kinds of things. I guess I never thought about it until this
happened. What reason is there to have those kinds of guns,
other than to kill people? I just don't understand that."
Connecticut is one of only seven states with
an assault weapons ban. The other six are Massachusetts, New
York, New Jersey, Maryland, California, and Hawaii. But
we are the only one of the seven that did not include a ban
on these LCAM's as part of the assault weapons ban. This
legislation will remedy that omission.
In no small part because we have enlightened
gun violence prevention laws, CT has the fourth lowest rate
of gun deaths per 100,000 population among all the states.
We want to see our ranking improved, not lessened, for this
statistic.
We are working very hard to pass this legislation
in this session because we know it will save lives. The only
people who want to shoot 32 bullets in 16 seconds are the
last people who should be allowed to.
The Brady Campaign Scorecard gives Connecticut
High Marks
The Brady Campaign has released its 2009 state
scorecards for all 50 states. Connecticut earned 53 points
out of a total of 100 and has the nation's fourth strongest
gun laws.
According to the Brady Organization, Connecticut
has strong gun laws that help combat the illegal gun market,
prevent the sale of most guns without background checks and
reduce risks to children.. In addition, Connecticut is one
of only 7 states that have closed the gun show loophole.
Four out of every five states score below 25
points out of 100. The state with the strongest gun laws is
California with 79 points, followed by New Jersey, Massachusetts,
Connecticut, Maryland and New York.
To See the complete ranking of all 50 states:
Brady
Campaign Scorecard
Legislature Passes SB358
The CT General Assembly passed a new gun
safety bill in this session intended to prevent the kind of
tragedy whereby an 8-year-old boy from Ashford CT died after
accidentally shooting himself while firing an Uzi submachine
gun under adult supervision at a Massachusetts gun fair.
The bill, SB 358, An Act Prohibiting the
Transfer of Machine Gun to Minors, prohibits any transfer
of a machine gun to children under 16 years of age, even temporarily,
such as under supervision at a firing range. Violation caries
a $1,000 fine, imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both. The
House vote was unanimous.
The bill becomes law on October 1, 2009.
Our legislative focus this year was a bill that
required the reporting of lost or stolen firearms. The bill
passed in the Senate 26-6, but failed to pass the House on
a 66 to 79 vote. This means that if 7 of the no votes had
voted yes, the legislation would have passed.
-
Reaction
to the House vote on Lost & Stolen firearms
State rep failed to protect her constituents, By Doug
Hardy
State Rep. Minnie Gonzalez (D-Hartford) should be ashamed
of herself.
Not only did she turn her back on her fellow Democrats,
but she also did an enormous disservice to her community
last week when she abstained from voting on the lost and
stolen firearms bill - a bill that would have finally
begun to address the plague of gun violence in Hartford
and Connecticut's other urban areas. Read
more.
-
Who
killed the bill - The author, Tremaine Williams,
is a Bulkeley High School student and a participant in
the Echoes from the Streets youth news magazine program
operated by Our Piece of the Pie in Hartford. OPP Inc.
is a nonprofit youth development agency dedicated to helping
Hartford youth become successful adults.
- Stolen
Firearms bill Falls in the House by Seven Votes
Legislation that would have required
the reporting of lost or stolen firearms failed to pass
the House on a 66 to 79 vote. This means that if 7 of the
no votes had voted yes, the legislation would have passed.
It is frustrating to come so close, but victory on this
important legislation is clearly within reach for the 2007
session. We are about to overcome the NRA's huge funding
advantage and influence to pass this common sense legislation
that will help keep illegal guns from finding their way
to our streets.
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