On Sunday, Connecticut enacted its most restrictive gun control measures since 2013, shortly after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown occurred.
Going forward, the legislation bans open carrying of firearms and bans the sale of more than three handguns within 30 days to any one person, according to NPR. The legislation was signed by Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont in June.
I just signed HB 6667, which takes smart and strategic steps to strengthen Connecticut's gun violence prevention laws to avoid tragedy. We must do more to protect our communities from gun violence, and I appreciate the bipartisan legislators who worked with us on this bill. pic.twitter.com/H7ykw57b5B
— Governor Ned Lamont (@GovNedLamont) June 6, 2023
Additionally, the law increases bail and “toughens probation and parole for what officials called a narrow group of people with repeated serious gun offenses,” as well as expands its current so-called “assault weapons” ban. The law strengthens penalties for high-capacity magazines and creates more crimes to the list of disqualifications for owning a firearm.
“I am glad that Connecticut is being recognized as a leader for our progress on gun safety laws,” Lamont wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Not only do we need more states to follow suit, we need Congress to implement similar laws that have the breadth of impacting every state to protect all of our communities.”
Reportedly, immediately after the legislation passed, it was challenged in court by Second Amendment supporters (via NPR):
Republican legislative leaders, who represent the minority party in the state General Assembly, accused Democrats of bragging about how safe Connecticut is because of the gun laws when there have been carjackings, serious property crimes and other acts of violence. House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, a Republican from North Branford, said claims Connecticut is one of the safest states are a "slap in the face" to residents.
"Enough with the news conferences — Democrats should step away from the lectern and tap into what's happening in their districts," he said in a statement.
Connecticut isn’t the only Democrat-led state to pass laws restricting the Second Amendment. Late last month, Townhall covered how California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed many gun control measures into law.
“While radical judges continue to strip away our ability to keep people safe, California will keep fighting — because gun safety laws work,” Newsom claimed. “The data proves they save lives: California’s gun death rate is 43% lower than the rest of the nation. These new laws will make our communities and families safer.”
Earlier this year, Townhall reported how Newsom proposed an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to implement sweeping gun control measures that would impact all Americans. This would include restrictions on modern sporting rifles, such as AR-15s, AK-47s and M-16s, dubbed by pro-gun control liberals as "assault weapons."
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