“We strongly feel that this is something that residents of the state of Connecticut should be able to have access to if they're law abiding, vetted background checks, individuals,” Holly Sullivan, president of the Connecticut Citizens Defense League, said.
In a new federal lawsuit filed against state officials, the Connecticut Citizens Defense League is seeking to overturn the state’s ban on modern sporting arms, a type of firearm it says has been misnamed as an assault weapon.
“These are not machine guns, they are not automatic weapons, these are firearms that you pull the trigger, once one cartridge is ejected,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said the ban violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution and says the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in the New York State Rifle & Pistol v. Bruen case has opened the door to the challenge.
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“They're used in hunting, they're used in sport,” Sullivan said.
“These are dangerous weapons of war. There's a reason we banned them and there's a reason people were murdered in Newtown because these weapons, assault weapons, AR-15 are not appropriate for civilian use,” Attorney General William Tong said.
But Tong said Connecticut’s gun laws save lives, adding that the state will not allow weapons of war back into schools, houses of worship or grocery stores.
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An attack on Connecticut's gun laws is an attack on Connecticut families in our communities. It's an attack on law enforcement and public safety.
-Attorney General William Tong
This is the second lawsuit of its kind filed. The National Association for Gun Rights has also challenged Connecticut’s assault weapon and high-capacity magazine laws.
Governor Ned Lamont said Connecticut’s law banning assault weapons was adopted in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook tragedy as part of a bipartisan effort to prevent needless tragedy, and that the state will vigorously defend commonsense laws that are seeking to reduce violent crime and mass shootings.
