HARTFORD, Conn. — Just three days after two students and two teachers were killed at Apalachee High School in Georgia, Connecticut lawmakers and activists are pushing for national gun control measures.
“On Wednesday, two students and two teachers in Georgia went to school a place that is supposed to be very safe, and they never came home,” said Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz (D-CT).
Friday morning, Connecticut leaders and activists shared in the grief of yet another school shooting in the U.S.
They want to raise awareness of Connecticut’s safe storage laws, but this press conference was actually planned before the school shooting in Georgia. State leaders say this timing highlights the importance of measures like Connecticut’s and the need to expand them across the country.
“Gun violence continues to be the leading cause of death among children in the United States,” Bysiewicz said.
It’s a cause Connecticut is no stranger to.
“On Dec. 14, 2012, my second-grade students and I huddled together terrified at the sound of gunshots blaring through our beloved Sandy Hook School, and news coming out of Apalachee High School this week makes it all resurface, not that it's ever far from my mind, even after 12 years,” said Abbey Clements, co-founder of Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence.
In the past decade, the state has passed some of the most comprehensive gun control laws in the country, expanding its assault weapons and high-capacity magazine ban and background check requirements.
Recently, Connecticut enacted a new suite of gun safety policies, including prohibiting open carry of firearms in public, strengthening dealer licensing requirements, and bolstering the secure firearm storage law.
“No exception means if you have a gun in your home and it is not on your person, it must be secured, it must be locked up,” explained CT Against Gun Violence interim executive Director Melissa Kane. “That is the law.”
Three-quarters of the firearms used in school shootings were obtained from the home of a parent or close relative, according to a 2019 report from the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center.
“We don't have a complete picture of how this tragedy in Georgia unfolded, but we do know that Georgia lacks some of the safeguards that we are lucky to have,” added Bysiewicz. “A minor could not own an assault weapon in Connecticut.”
National activism and policy group Everytown for Gun Safety ranks Georgia 46th in the country for gun law strength — allowing permitless carry and having no age restrictions on purchasing firearms.
Police say the father of the 14-year-old Georgia shooter knowingly allowed his son to possess a weapon.
“We have a red flag law here in Connecticut that Georgia doesn't have and that young person had some very concerning social media and online activity that should have been a red flag,” Bysiewicz continued.
Some Georgia state lawmakers now say red flag and safe storage laws could have prevented this week’s tragedy, while Connecticut officials say these measures should go even further.
“It's going to take a suite of national laws, including Ethan's law,” said Kane. “We need an assault weapons ban, we need national Red Flag laws, we need expanded background checks, all of those put together would certainly have changed what happened in this situation, or had the ability to change that.”
Officials also remind families, as back-to-school season is in full swing, they want to keep students and staff safe at school and at home by ensuring any firearms and ammunition are stored securely in accordance with Connecticut law.
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Emma Wulfhorst is a political reporter for FOX61 News. She can be reached at ewulfhorst@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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