The new statute is HB 6667, and it is the most prohibitive law in the state since a 2013 measure passed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
The new law expressly bans the right to openly carry a firearm. It prohibits selling over three pistols to any one person within 30 days, with exceptions built in for instructors and some others. It increases bail and hardens probation and parole for what lawmakers categorized as a narrow group of individuals with repeated serious gun charges.
It expanded Connecticut’s present ban on so-called “assault weapons” to include several similar models. It further prohibits the sale of certain semiautomatic long guns to anyone under 21 and enacts stiffer penalties for gun dealers found guilty of violating state law.
HB 6667 increased punishments for having large-capacity magazines and hardened safe-storage regulations to cover more locations. And it added some domestic violence crimes to the already long list of infractions that disqualify a person from owning a firearm.
There are even body armor purchase restrictions.
In short, it creates a wide range of criminal liability for the simple act of exercising the constitutional right to possess a weapon. It is glaringly apparent that state officials believe they have power over the U.S. Constitution, though this may soon be proven wrong in federal court.
The Connecticut Senate approved the bill on Saturday in a 24-11 vote. This came on the heels of the House passing it 96-51 last week.
In a statement, the governor defended the sweeping new law as good for the state. “This bill that I just signed takes smart and strategic steps to strengthen the laws in Connecticut to prevent tragedy from happening. The inaction of Congress on critical legislation to keep Americans safe requires each state to act individually.”
State residents were already burdened with some of the strictest gun laws in the nation before HB 6667. Several lawsuits are challenging the moves by multiple states to crack down on gun rights after the U.S. Supreme Court took giant steps last year to restore them.
The ink was not dry before a direct challenge to the new law was filed by Idaho-based We the Patriots USA. The Second Amendment advocacy group initiated a lawsuit in federal court late Tuesday along with other plaintiffs.
Organization lawyer Norm Pattis told the Associated Press the same day that “individuals have a right to bear arms under both the state and federal constitutions. The state constitution guarantees a right to protect oneself.”
He added that “no one sacrifices that right by walking out of their front door. In an era of defunding police, permissive bail reform and liberal clemency, folks depend on the right to self-defense more than ever.”
No law-abiding U.S. citizen deserves to have their rights thrown into the trash heap by the mere stroke of a pen. Unfortunately for gun rights enthusiasts in Connecticut, there may be a long legal road to follow before these draconian laws are overturned.
It it noteworthy that in this and many other states enacting these measures that defy common sense and logic, there are no accompanying new laws that crack down on violent criminals. There is a strange lack of measures designed to keep lawbreakers off the streets and prevent them from threatening innocent residents.
That is not in the playbook of anti-gun zealots. Rather, their singular focus is to throw everything at lawful gun owners and then claim that they did “something.”
It is a strategy that continues to fail across the country, and until real anti-crime measures are implemented and enforced, HB 6667 and others like it are merely window dressing.
