Townhall has covered how several blue states, including Colorado, Michigan, and Illinois, have introduced legislation meant to curb Americans' Second Amendment rights. This includes restrictions on where firearms can be carried and bans on so-called "assault weapons," which typically refers to AK-47s, AR-15s, and M-16s.
On Tuesday, Democrat Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed a gun control package bill into law. The law is reportedly the most restrictive one enacted since the Sandy Hook school shooting in 2012.
According to the Hartford Courant, the new law bans the open carrying of firearms in public, closes "loopholes" in the state's so-called "assault weapons ban," among other things (via the Hartford Courant):
The new law bans the open carrying of firearms in public, closes loopholes in the state’s assault weapon ban, bars the sale of more than three handguns to an individual within a 30-day period, increases penalties for failing to report stolen firearms, requires all firearms to be sold with trigger locks, and mandates the registration of unserialized “ghost guns” among several other provisions.
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Passing 96-51 in the House and 24 to -11 in the Senate, the legislation received bipartisan support but was not without controversy.
"Connecticut has shown time and again that we can improve public safety by implementing reasonable gun violence prevention laws while also respecting the rights of Americans to own guns for their own protection and sportsmanship. This bill that I've signed continues that fair, commonsense balance," Lamont said in a statement Tuesday.
We The Patriots, a pro-Second Amendment organization, said on Tuesday that as soon as the governor signed the bill into law, it would file a lawsuit over its constitutionality.
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"[We] are standing by and ready as soon as gov lamont [sic] signs it we will file," the organization wrote.
In a statement, the National Rifle Association called the legislation "terrible."
"On Tuesday, anti-gun Gov. Ned Lamont inked his signature on more Second Amendment restrictions in Connecticut. The Governor signed H.6667 which contained several firearm restrictions, including a ban on open carry and the adoption of gun rationing, limiting a person to 3 pistols per month," the statement said. "The Legislature didn't stop there. This terrible bill also has restrictive mandatory storage provisions, additional FFL regulations and body armor purchase restrictions."
On the other hand, several Republican-led states, like Florida and Nebraska, have passed legislation protecting Americans' Second Amendment rights.
"Florida led the nation in allowing for concealed carry, and that extends today as we remove the government permission slip to exercise a constitutional right," Florida House Speaker Paul Renner said this year when permitless carry was signed into law. "We need to make sure that we put guns in the hands of the good men and women, the law-abiding men and women, who have a right to defend themselves and defend others."
