State lawmakers in Connecticut are preparing to make their case for a litany of bills pertaining to the Second Amendment rights of their constituents — some of them good, most of them bad.
Let’s start with the good bills. According to AmmoLand, three bills being considered by Connecticut lawmakers can actually improve Second Amendment rights: one coming through the state’s Senate, and two through the House.
Senate Bill 940 will allow individuals with the proper licensing to carry handguns in state parks and forests. This is a no-brainer: there is no reason why people who have already gone through the vetting process and proven themselves to be responsible citizens can’t carry firearms anywhere. So-called “gun free zones” have continually proven to be woefully ineffective in protecting people, seeing as the vast majority of firearm-related crimes occur in such areas.
House Bill 5870, if passed, will allow individuals with registered banned firearms to transfer them amongst themselves. Seeing as the guns are already registered with the state, and the owners are once again already vetted, this is common sense. House Bill 5227 standardizes gun regulations throughout the state, prohibiting individual counties or municipalities from adding additional burdens to gun owners.
So, that’s the good news. Sadly, we now have to move on to the bad news…
Connecticut lawmakers are considering four anti-gun bills this month. These include Senate Bill 60, House Bill 7218, House Bill 7219, and House Bill 7223.
Senate Bill 60 and House Bill 7223 both deal with handguns. The first piece of legislation will allow law enforcement officers to demand proof of handgun-related paperwork for seemingly any reason. Under current Connecticut law, police officers are already able to do this, but there has to be suspicion that a crime has or is in the process of being committed. House Bill 7223 would require gun owners to keep handguns locked in a safe if kept in an unattended vehicle. While this might seem harmless, it effectively requires every single handgun owner to fit their vehicles with storage devices. As any gun owner understands, this can get very expensive very quickly.
House Bills 7218 and 7219 are perhaps the most egregious of the bunch. The former would prohibit gun owners with children from making their firearms available for self-defense. Think about this for a second: the people who have the most to protect will be the least equipped to do so if this bill passes. The latter would outright prohibit the self-manufacture of firearms or firearm parts without putting serial numbers on everything.
Naturally, the National Rifle Association has weighed in on the situation in Connecticut, urging members and supporters to actively oppose the last four bills mentioned. Hopefully, these lawmakers will come to understand exactly what’s at stake here, and vote on the side of the Constitution.
~ Firearm Daily
