HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut's state Senate passed legislation overnight Saturday that aims to address gun violence. The Senate voted 24-11 to implement bans on certain weapons, add safety regulations and more.
The House passed the bill last week on a 96-51 vote. Now that the Senate has passed the bill, it will head to Gov. Ned Lamont's desk; his office said he plans to sign the bill into law.
“This legislation that is now heading to my desk includes several comprehensive changes that modernize our firearm safety laws in a smart and strategic way to help prevent tragedy from happening,” Lamont said. “These updates are supported by the overwhelming majority of Connecticut residents because they want to live in a community that has commonsense measures that encourage gun safety and prevent harm from impacting our neighborhoods and homes. I appreciate the leadership of the Senate – including Senator Looney and Senator Winfield – for calling this bill for a vote today and getting it approved. I look forward to signing it into law.”
"Every family deserves to live on a block, every student deserves to attend a school, and every resident deserves to go about their day free from the threat of gun violence. The alarming increase of illegal guns, high-capacity firearms, and individuals engaging in violence is wreaking havoc on our communities and our nation, and we must do everything in our power to stop it," New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said in a statement, and later added, "The commonsense gun safety provisions in this legislation will help keep our residents safe and provide law enforcement with additional tools to keep illegal guns and the small number of repeat offenders who choose to engage in violence off our streets."
There are multiple facets to House Bill 6667, An Act Addressing Gun Violence.
Bans:
The governor's office said that the bill "bans the open carrying of firearms in public." Concealed carry with a permit is allowed, except in certain locations.
Ghost guns have been banned in Connecticut since 2019, and lawmakers tightened that ban by voting to include ghost guns assembled before that ban was enacted. Those ghost guns would need to be registered with the state by Jan. 1, 2024.
Assault weapons have been banned in the state for about 10 years now, and this new legislation "closes loopholes...by including 'other' firearms with banned features analogous to those on banned pistols and rifles and pre-September 13, 1994, 'pre-ban' firearms that were carved out of the original ban. A new registration will open for these 2023 assault weapons. If purchased before the date of passage, these weapons can be registered until May 1, 2024. If registered, owners can continue possessing them but further transfers are generally barred."
This new bill also "ensures enforceability of the state’s ban on large-capacity magazines by making possession a class D felony for prohibited persons and a class A misdemeanor for non-prohibited persons."
Safety:
This new legislation expands state storage laws to apply in all situations, not just when a minor or "prohibited person" may get access to a firearm.
The governor's office said that those charged with "a family violence crime or federal misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" would be automatically disqualified from having a pistol permit, and added commission of such a crime after Oct. 1, 2023, as a qualifier for criminal possession of a firearm.
Sales:
When any firearms are sold, trigger locks would now be required for all of them. When transporting firearms in a vehicle, all long guns must be unloaded.
The sale, delivery or transfer of three or more guns within a 30-day period, for six handguns for an instructor, is considered a bulk purchase. "Law enforcement agencies, returns/exchanges, and transfers to a museum are exempted," according to the governor's office.
Anyone purchasing body armor is required to have a pistol permit or eligibility certificate. The governor's office said that "this includes exemptions for certain law enforcement officers, state and judicial officials, and military personnel."
Anyone under the age of 21 is already prohibited from buying rifles with a capacity greater than five rounds in public sales. The bill expands it to private sales as well.
Certification and accountability:
Repeat offenders considered high risk would face "increases in bail, probation and parole responses for the extremely narrow group of people with repeated serious firearm offenses."
Local authorities can make a timeline as soon as the first stage of the pistol permitting process.
To boost gun dealer accountability, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection would be allowed to issue a notice of violation and impose a sales ban on any dealers violating any of their responsibilities.
The governor's office also said that there are "updates to the training requirements for pistol permits and eligibility certificates to require instruction on safe storage, state firearms laws, and lawful use of firearms."
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It was a busy night for the state Senate, as they also voted to pass several pieces of legislation. The following bills are now headed to Lamont's desk:
- Anyone under the age of 18 prohibited from being issued a marriage license under any circumstance
- A bill that attempts to address the large increase in wrong-way crashes on the state's roads
- Legislation that allows someone to use deadly force to kill a bear in Connecticut if they reasonably believe it's inflicting or about to inflict great bodily harm to a person, a pet or is entering an occupied building.
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