Lamont seeks to close loophole in CT weapons ban

Taken together, Lamont’s proposals, in addition to banning high-capacity magazines and armour-piercing ammunition, have led Connecticut’s gun laws since the state added more than 100 firearms to its list of prohibited military weapons. represents the widest expansion.

“There are a lot of gun peddlers out there trying to sell these things, trying to circumvent our system every day,” Lamont said. “You can tell by the fact that they went to buy assault weapons before 1994 and said, ‘I can get them in the Southern states, bring them here to Connecticut, and sell them legally.’ ”

The governor announced his plans at St. Francis’ Hospital in Hartford. A spokeswoman said the hospital has treated an average of 100 shooting victims each year in the past four years, police said Wednesday night, about a mile from the intersection where two teenagers were shot. in a remote location.

Although the overall rate of violent crime is well below levels seen in Connecticut, the recent surge in shootings and murders has unsettled residents of many communities, especially within the state’s metropolitan areas. Earlier in the week, Lamont appeared with the mayors of Hartford, Bridgeport, New Haven and Waterbury to remove loopholes in existing gun laws while ending open-carry practices in Connecticut. announced plans to

Police and local authorities complain that unserialized “ghost” guns and high-capacity magazines are proliferating despite existing bans.

Chief Prosecutor Patrick Griffin said an illegal device known as a “Glock switch” was used in conjunction with an illegal magazine to create an improved weapon capable of firing 30 rounds in less than two seconds. He said he is doing more and more.

“There has been a sickening consistency of gun violence each year,” said Griffin, a former New Haven prosecutor. I suffered.”

Some of the governor’s latest proposals — including ending the pre-1994 weapons exemption and adding rimfire rifles to the state’s military-style weapons ban — are gun control measures introduced by the governor’s office last year. , but failed. Get the support of legislators.

House Judiciary Committee Speaker Steve Stafstrom and D-Bridgeport said the governor’s proposal will be “a top priority” for lawmakers this legislative session.

But critics of the governor’s efforts go far beyond measures that have gained bipartisan support in the past in Connecticut’s Democratic-controlled Congress, claiming they violate Second Amendment rights. ing.

“His anger is a daily responsibility for lawful purposes, including hunting, recreational shooting, and self-defense,” Mark Oliva, spokesman for the National Shooting Sports Foundation in Newtown, said in a statement. “It continues to be aimed at legal gun owners who carry and use firearms,” ​​he said. We are proposing unconstitutional legislation that would deny us the ability to exercise our God-given rights.”

Still, Lamont fell short of proposing even more controversial measures for gun control when he presented his legislative agenda this week.

In the past, the governor has expressed intent to track some of the more than 80,000 military weapons manufactured between 1994 and 2013, requiring them to be registered with the state, according to the law’s latest expansion. did not apply to But Lamont, speaking to reporters on Monday, admitted that doing so would prove “difficult to force.”

State officials said Thursday that even a rough estimate of how many weapons exist in the state under the previous pre-1994 exemption is lacking.

As with previous arms ban expansions, Lamont’s office said the proposal would give gun owners a period of perhaps a year to register and store weapons that fall under the newly proposed ban. After that, possession of unregistered weapons becomes illegal. Mr. Lamont also said he would ask lawmakers to raise the penalty for illegal possession of large-capacity magazines to a class D felony.

Both governors and gun control advocates say lawmakers will likely have to take action again in the future to stop manufacturers from circumventing the law, even if tougher restrictions are passed. said.

Jeremy Stein, Executive Director of CT Against Gun Violence, said: “Because right now, as we’re talking about, people don’t know how to make an assault weapon or design a . I’m trying to find on Reddit how to create a .

Lamont’s proposal is expected to be drafted into formal law as part of his annual budget proposal to Congress. Lamont told reporters that any efforts by him and lawmakers to reduce gun violence would diminish the benefits as long as firearms could easily flow into Connecticut from deregulated states. “We need to strengthen the Federal Reserve,” he said.

His announcement came on the heels of a devastating start to the new year, with more than 70 people dead in mass shootings by the end of January.

In Washington, DC, Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut both introduced legislation this week to reimpose a ban on federal military weapons that expired in 2004. Pass a split parliament.

Both senators are scheduled to hold a press conference at the state capitol on Friday to discuss the bill.