HARTFORD, Conn. — Guns took center stage at the Capitol Monday, as hundreds of people packed the Judiciary Committee public hearing to testify on four different bills.
There were 166 people signed up to give public testimony on the proposals aimed at curbing gun violence and revising firearm standards in Connecticut.
“We still have people dying almost every other day in Connecticut,” said Jeremy Stein, executive director of CT Against Gun Violence.
Frank Horvath, Harwinton, said, “These laws are not gonna stop bad people from shooting other people.”
Supporters say these bills are necessary to keep Connecticut safe.
“We are here to protect life,” said Richard Boritz, a volunteer with CT Against Gun Violence. “We are here to make sure that people are safe in this country.”
Stein added, “Until we live in a society where people are no longer dying from gun violence, we have to keep passing as many laws as we can to prevent more preventable deaths.”
Those opposed say Connecticut already has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation and argue these new proposals will do little to stop gun crime.
“There's nothing in here that I could see that addressed people who do bad things,” Hyde Harman, Voluntown, said. “The people who are doing the bad things, they're the ones who have got to be dealt with.”
Gov. Ned Lamont’s bill, HB 6667, was the measure getting the most attention Monday.
The governor’s proposal would close a loophole in the state’s assault weapons ban, raise the age to purchase a long gun from 18 to 21, expand safe storage requirements and more.
Another measure would implement “microstamping” to identify guns and raise the age to purchase ammunition, and a third bill – brought by multiple Connecticut mayors – is aimed at strengthening penalties for repeat offenders of gun-related crimes.
“What we have seen is certain loopholes in our laws that need to be closed,” said Rep. Steven Stafstrom, (D) co-chair of the Judiciary Committee. “If we want Connecticut to be a safer state, we need to pass and continue to update our safe gun laws.”
Emma Wulfhorst is a political reporter for FOX61 News. She can be reached at ewulfhorst@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The fourth bill Monday was introduced by the Republican caucus and looks to ease restrictions for gun owners.
“Everybody in Connecticut wants the same thing. We want less gun violence, less violence altogether. The real disagreement comes in how do we achieve that,” Rep. Greg Howard, (R) member of the Judiciary Committee, said. “We need to prosecute the guns that we have and hold criminals responsible and stop further restricting the legal rights of law-abiding citizens.”
This is just the start of the process for these bills, as lawmakers say the proposals could be split up or combined as negotiations continue after Monday’s public hearing.
The Judiciary Committee must vote whether to advance these measures by the end of the month.
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