Critical news of interest to our readers.

Gun safety bills voted out of Judiciary Committee

We are very pleased to let you know that the four gun safety bills before the Judiciary Committee have been voted favorably out of committee with bipartisan support. This is an important milestone in the legislative process, and a significant accomplishment for gun violence prevention advocates.  

Thank you to all of our supporters who have worked so hard over the past three months by contacting legislators, submitting testimony, attending press conferences and the public hearing. It’s your advocacy that drove today’s success.

The four bills voted out of committee are: H.B. 7218 and H.B. 7223 to strengthen firearm storage requirements, H.B. 7219 to ban ghost guns and S.B. 60 to require individuals openly carrying a firearm to show their permit upon the request of a law enforcement offer.

The priority now is to bring the bills to a vote as quickly as possible. We’ll be coming back to you shortly with a more detailed call to action, but in the meantime if you’re speaking to your state legislators, please ask them to co-sponsor H.B. 7218, H.B. 7223 and H.B. 7219, the focus of our advocacy. You can find your legislators’ contact information here.

Descriptions of each of the bills are below.

H.B. 7218, An Act Concerning the Safe Storage of Firearms in the Home
Expands the conditions under which firearms must be securely stored in the home to include unloaded firearms (currently only loaded firearms are covered) and applies it to homes with minors aged 16 and 17 (currently only 15 and younger).

BENEFIT: Prevents unintentional shootings, firearm suicide by family members other than the gun owner, especially teens (80% of child and teen firearm suicides use a gun belonging to a family member) and school shootings (In 75% of cases, guns used in school shootings came from the shooter’s home or that of a relative).

H.B. 7223, An Act Concerning the Storage of a Pistol or Revolver in a Motor Vehicle
Requires handguns in motor vehicles to be kept in a securely locked safe when the vehicle is unattended.

BENEFIT: Prevents gun theft. Most firearms recovered from crime scenes are stolen.

H.B. 7219, An Act Concerning Ghost Guns
Bans firearms without serial numbers and regulates so-called “ghost guns” (kits that allow assembly of guns at home without requiring a background check and permit) and 3D plastic printed guns the same as Connecticut regulates other firearms.

BENEFIT: Prevents firearms from getting in the hands of dangerous individuals not permitted by law to possess a firearm. Prevents the manufacture of untraceable guns that are sold illegally to other prohibited persons. Prevents the manufacture of guns undetectable by metal detectors.

S.B. 60, An Act Concerning The Presentation Of A Carry Permit. 
Requires individuals openly carrying a firearm in public to show their permit, that they are required to have on their person, upon the request of a law enforcement officer.

BENEFIT: Protects public safety by enabling law enforcement to determine if an individual with a gun visible is legally allowed to carry the firearm in public.

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Ethan’s Law

The 2019 legislative session doesn’t commence for another six weeks, but CAGV is already laying the groundwork for advancing our agenda. At the top of the list are strengthening requirements for storing firearms, and regulating “ghost” guns (the DIY kits for assembling guns at home) just the same as we do all other firearms.

Earlier this week our executive director, Jeremy Stein, joined Kristin and Michael Song of Guilford in calling for tightening Connecticut’s child access prevention law that currently pertains only to loaded firearms. Ethan Song, their 15 year old son, was killed earlier this year when he got access to an unsecured handgun and ammunition at a friend’s house.

“Ethan’s Law” would close the loopholes in Connecticut’s safe storage law that do not require unloaded firearms to be secured, and don’t require loaded guns to be secured if the children in the home are more than 15 years of age.

Every day in the U.S. eight children are unintentionally shot or killed by an unsecured gun. Households where both firearms and ammunition are securely locked have an 85 percent lower risk of these preventable tragedies. Ethan’s death was not an accident; it was the result of gross negligence on the part of the father who stored his guns in a bedroom closet. Ethan’s Law will help prevent unintentional shootings, suicides and even crime-related gun violence. will send a clear message to irresponsible gun owners: lock up your firearms or be held accountable.

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To learn more, click here to see our CAGV Fact Sheet: The Deadly Dangers of Lax Firearm Storage.

Recognizing CAGV’s leadership and expertise in crafting smart gun laws, governor-elect Ned Lamont appointed Jeremy to his Transition Policy Committee on Public Safety. It’s great to see that our incoming governor believes gun safety regulation should play an important role in policy recommendations to keep our communities safe.

We have an ambitious agenda next year; we’re thankful to have you with us.

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The Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh

Our nation is once again reeling from the senseless loss of precious lives, this time by an anti-Semitic shooter who used a semi-automatic assault rifle to kill 11 Jewish worshippers celebrating a holy ritual with their loved ones. In addition to the murders, six were wounded, including four police officers, making it one of the deadliest attacks on a Jewish community in the United States.

We cannot say this is “unthinkable” or “hard to imagine” as President Trump remarked in response to the shooting. His failure to condemn the hate-filled men and women who marched in the streets of Charlottesville last year carrying AR-15 assault weapons while shouting anti-Semitic slurs has emboldened perpetrators of hate crimes against Jews, Muslims, people of color, the LGBT community and immigrants.

This level of violence, enabled by easy access to weapons of war, has become the new reality in America. The time has long since passed for our nation to address the terror of gun violence from which no community is safe.

Connecticut knows all too well the heartache and pain of a mass shooting, and we stand with the Squirrel Hill community and the Tree of Life congregation. But we must honor the lives lost with action, not just words, to end the epidemic of gun violence that victimizes all communities, regardless of religion, race or economic status.

More guns is not the answer. The crisis of gun violence in America will not be solved by arming teachers, encouraging civilians to carry firearms in public or “hardening targets” by stationing armed guards in houses of worship, schools, universities, movie theaters, shopping centers and concert venues—just some of the places where mass shootings have taken place. More guns only equals more gun deaths.

What must be done is strengthening the nation’s gun laws to prevent easy access to unlimited numbers of firearms, and to rein in the lethality of guns that have no place in the hands of civilians. We have an opportunity on November 6 to correct past mistakes and change the trajectory of gun violence in the U.S. That opportunity lies in the hands of voters across the nation who can elect candidates who feel as we do, that one more senseless gun death is one too many, and who will replace “thoughts and prayers” with votes for common-sense gun laws.

Vote as if your life depends upon it, because it does.

For Connecticut voters, CAGV candidate grades and endorsements can be found here.

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