Legislation proposed by Gov. Ned Lamont that aims to combat gun violence has passed the Connecticut General Assembly's Judiciary Committee.
House Bill 6667 seeks to prevent acts of gun violence including mass shootings, community violence, domestic violence, suicides and accidental shootings, according to the governor's office.
The judiciary committee voted in favor of the proposal on Tuesday.
In a statement, Co-Chair of the Judiciary Committee Rep. Steve Stafstrom (D - Bridgeport) said, "We don't need to go back any further than yesterday to see that gun violence continues to be a scourge on our nation."
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Stafstorm was referring to the school shooting in Nashville that left three 9-year-old children and three of their teachers dead.
Stafstrom said the bill "speaks to address gun violence in a profound and needed way" since the last time state legislators had a serious look at statutes in the wake on Sandy Hook.
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“As elected leaders, it is our responsibility to implement policies that keep our homes, our schools, our churches, and our neighborhoods safe, and the people who elected us want us to take every opportunity ensure this happens,” Lamont said in a statement.
“These policy proposals represent a fair, commonsense balance that respects the rights of Americans to own guns for their own protection and sportsmanship while also acknowledging that we must take actions to protect the people who live in our communities," Lamont continued.
The legislation aims to:
- Close loopholes in the state’s assault weapons ban
- Strengthen penalties related to the state’s ban on large-capacity magazines to make that ban enforceable
- Increase the age to purchase all firearms to 21
- Ban the open carrying of firearms in public, while continuing to allow concealed carry with a permit except in particular locations
- Limit handgun purchases to one per month to discourage straw purchases
- Update the state’s ban on unregistered “ghost guns” to stop their illegal flow
- Require a ten-day waiting period before purchasing a firearm
- Increase education requirements for firearm licenses
- Require safe storage regardless of who lives at a given residence
- Improve the design safety standards for semiautomatic handguns
- Make commission of a family violence crime or being a fugitive an automatic disqualifier for holding a pistol permit
- Prohibit the carrying of any loaded long gun in a vehicle
- Require trigger locks for all firearm purchases
Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin applauded the decision, which would establish a "serious firearm offense" that would result in increased accountability when committed by someone with a serious criminal history.
“These proposals are specifically focused on those who have a significant history of prior offenses and who continue to commit serious firearm offenses in our communities. While this is just one piece of a broader approach to reducing gun violence, it’s an important piece. We need to continue investing in community violence intervention, in reentry support, in job training, and in mental health treatment and trauma recovery – and we also need common-sense measures like this to reduce gun violence by serious repeat offenders,” Bronin said.
In a statement, Bronin said a significant percentage of gun violence in Connecticut cities is committed by people who are on pre-trial release, parole or probation. Specifically in Hartford, 58% of people arrested for shootings last year were on either pre-trial release, parole or probation.
For more information about the proposed legislation, click here.
