By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
With seven Republican lawmakers crossing the aisle to join the Democrat majority, the Connecticut House of Representatives has passed what the Hartford Courant is calling “the state’s most comprehensive gun-control package since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings more than a decade ago.”
However, five Democrats voted against the package, the newspaper reported. House Bill 6667, “An Act Addressing Gun Violence,” passed on a 96-51 vote. Critics say it doesn’t address “gun violence” at all, but instead ratchets down more on law-abiding gun owners.
Included in the package is a requirement to register so-called “ghost guns,” a limit of three handgun purchases per month, an expanded “safe storage” requirement and increased penalties for not reporting lost or stolen firearms. There is also an “updated” training requirement for pistol permit applicants, and a ban on open carry.
According to the Connecticut Mirror, “Passage is assured in the Senate.” It will give anti-gun Democrat Gov. Ned Lamont a victory, which House Republicans opposed to the measure intimate may be rather hollow.
Rep. Steve Weir (R-Hebron) was quoted by the Courant: “Why are we not targeting more criminals? I think this is a feel-good bill with a misleading title. It will get a caption in a newspaper or online, but it’s going to do nothing to reduce gun violence.”
Another Republican, Rep. Mitch Bolinsky, condemned “the level of disrespect for law-abiding citizens” and ripped his colleagues, observing, “Every session, we have a need to punish law-abiding citizens and take their stuff away.”
Fox News noted that Rep. Cara Pavalock D’Amato “wore a white T-shirt with images of handguns and the words ‘Love Guns’ under her blazer.” She criticized the legislation as illustrative of “the state’s pattern of ‘chipping away’ at the rights of legal gun owners,” Fox said.
A fourth Republican—Rep. Doug Dubitsky—reportedly predicted the law will eventually be overturned in court on Second Amendment and state constitutional grounds.
The Fox News report confirmed almost half of the states “have passed legislation addressing guns or school safety this year, but the division among states continues to widen.”
“Democratic-led states have enacted new laws to restrict semi-automatic weapons and expand background checks and waiting periods to buy guns,” Fox reported. “Republican-led states have backed the right to carry concealed guns without permits or for trained staff to bring guns to school.”
The legislative battle gave Gov. Lamont an opportunity to engage in gun control rhetoric, using arguments from the gun prohibition lobby. Focusing on so-called “Ghost Guns,” Lamont lamented, “All these plastic ghost guns, they are flooding our streets. We see what used to be settled with a fist are now settled with a plastic ghost gun.”
Passage of the legislation also gave anti-gunners a platform. During the debate, representatives from gun prohibition lobbying groups were observing.
“We applaud the House for recognizing the multi-faceted approach needed to address gun violence in our state by passing this comprehensive gun safety package,” said Joanna Taczanowsky, a volunteer with Moms Demand Action, as reported by the Connecticut Mirror. “Passing this bill is crucial to keeping Connecticut a national leader in the gun safety movement and ensuring the safety and well-being of Connecticuters across the state.”
Whether that prediction comes to pass remains to be seen.
