HARTFORD, Conn. — The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a long-time restrictive gun law in New York on Thursday, upholding the 2nd Amendment.
The law required gun owners to have a "particular need" to carry in public. This opens the door for other states with similar laws to challenge them.
Some of Connecticut's leaders find this decision "radical" and "destructive", particularly in the aftermath of mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y. and Uvalde, Texas.
U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal released a statement regarding the decision:
“This deeply destructive decision will unleash even more gun violence on American communities. Instead of upholding common-sense safeguards to reduce gun violence, it will only put more guns in public spaces and open the floodgates to invalidate sensible gun safety laws in more states. Worse yet, it is a significant step backwards at a moment when horrendous shootings happen across our country every day, taking too many beautiful lives and terrorizing generations of Americans.
“This opinion in no way impugns the Constitutionality of the common-sense Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that the Senate should approve this week. As gun violence soars, Congress must heed the will of the majority of Americans who support gun safety measures and break the legislative logjam to stop this senseless violence. This activist Supreme Court is once again legislating from the bench, but Congress must continue to legislate for a safer America.”
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy released a statement, saying:
“For decades, the anti-gun violence movement has been met with obstacles and frustrations, and yet they’ve been tireless in their pursuit of change. Their advocacy has made this moment possible. This legislation will strengthen background checks and keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. It also makes a historic investment in mental health and much-needed support services for students. This bill doesn’t include everything I want, but it will save countless lives and finally break a 30 year political logjam. I look forward to earning bipartisan support for this historic legislation among my Senate colleagues this week.”
Connecticut's Attorney General, William Tong, said this decision undermines gun safety laws nationwide.
“This decision is a radical rewrite of the Court’s prior positions on the Second Amendment and states’ rights to pass commonsense gun safety legislation. We should expect a wave of new lawsuits nationwide and here in Connecticut, coordinated by gun groups like the NRA, challenging our assault weapons ban, age restrictions on gun ownership, prohibitions on guns in sensitive locations like schools, and provisions enabling public safety professionals to review the suitability of an applicant before granting a gun permit. This decision is reckless, and the consequences for public safety nationwide are dire, but it was not unexpected. We have been working closely with advocates, legislators, and other attorneys general nationwide and are ready to aggressively defend Connecticut’s laws.”
Gov. Ned Lamont released this statement:
“This Supreme Court decision will not prevent Connecticut from enforcing its responsible gun ownership laws. As a matter of fact, the court specifically distinguished our approach when it comes to the issuance of permits and tools for law enforcement to keep firearms out of the hands of those who may do harm. However, we should all be concerned that today’s ruling heralds a newly aggressive effort to second-guess commonsense state and local policies that save lives while accommodating both gun rights and gun safety. One thing we know is true – more guns do not make us safer, and as governor I will continue to pursue policies that make our laws stronger to keep our residents out of harm’s way.”
State Representative Steven Stafstrom
“The fact that the Supreme Court would suggest more guns in more places is what the Framers of the Constitution intended at a time when so many Americans are living in fear of shootings in our schools, shopping malls, places of worship and on our streets, is simply nuts.
Our Country is living through a self-imposed gun violence epidemic and today’s decision in Bruenjust invites more litigation and makes it that much harder to keep Americans safe. One silver lining however is that the Court specifically recognized that Connecticut’s restrictions on the issue of gun permits passes constitutional muster. Connecticut will continue to lead the push for sensible gun control.”
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