Conn. legislators back gun limits
Bill bans dozens of weapons, creates gun offender registry
HARTFORD, Conn. – Connecticut’s Senate on Wednesday approved sweeping new restrictions on weapons and large-capacity magazines, a response to last year’s deadly Newtown elementary school shooting that would give the state some of the country’s tightest gun control laws.
The December massacre of 26 people inside Sandy Hook Elementary School, which reignited a national debate on gun control, set the stage for changes in the state that may have been impossible elsewhere: The governor, who personally informed parents that their children had been killed that day, championed the cause, and legislative leaders, keenly aware of the attention on the state, struck a bipartisan agreement they want to serve as a national model.
“The tragedy in Newtown demands a powerful response, demands a response that transcends politics,” said Senate President Donald E. Williams Jr., a Democrat. “It is the strongest and most comprehensive bill in the country.”
The bill passed the Senate in a bipartisan 26-10 vote following a respectful and at times somber six-hour debate Wednesday evening. The House of Representatives was still debating the legislation late Wednesday night, but it was expected to pass. Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy has said he would sign it into law.
The legislation adds more than 100 firearms to the state’s assault weapons ban and creates what officials have called the nation’s first dangerous weapon offender registry as well as eligibility rules for buying ammunition.
Some parts of the bill would take effect immediately after Malloy’s signature, including background checks for all firearms sales.
Connecticut will join states including California, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts in having the country’s strongest gun control laws, said Brian Malte, director of mobilization for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence in Washington.
“This would put Connecticut right at the top or near the top of the states with the strongest gun laws,” Malte said.
Colorado and New York also passed new gun control requirements in the wake of the Newtown shooting, in which a 20-year-old gunman used a military-style semi-automatic rifle to kill 20 first-graders and six educators.
Compared with Connecticut’s legislation, which, for example, bans the sale or purchase of ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds, New York restricted magazines to seven bullets and gave owners of higher-capacity magazines a year to sell them elsewhere. Colorado banned ammunition magazines that hold more than 15 rounds.
“There are pieces that are stronger in other states, but, in totality, this will be the strongest gun legislation passed in the United States,” Betty Gallo, a lobbyist for Connecticut Against Gun Violence, said of the Connecticut bill.