Legislative Session Comes to a Close in Connecticut!

The legislative session came to a dramatic close on Wednesday as House members considered a gun-related bill as the final measure of the year.  SB 1133, which NRA had fiercely opposed since its introduction, would have made a felon out of anyone who had been denied a permit or certificate of eligibility and still possessed long guns. The bill was amended in the Senate on the previous evening, and all language objected to by NRA was stripped, leaving a bill that will do no more than facilitate communication between the state`s departments of Mental Health and Public Safety regarding the NICS system. The bill, which was called at 11:57 p.m., in an effort to ensure that those attempting anti-gun amendments would not have time, passed on a vote of 113 to 34 at 12: 01 a.m.

Also, due to work from House members on both sides of the aisle, SB 1195, which would have made it a crime to fail to report the loss or theft of a firearm within 72 hours, failed to come to the floor for consideration. "The Gun Traffickers Protection Act" would have put law-abiding gun owners at great risk by forcing them to prove when they "knew or should have known" their firearms were missing and offered legal cover to criminals intent on illegally dealing or transferring guns. The proponents of this measure have promised they will be back with this measure next year.

Also defeated this year were efforts to put local gun stores out of business, ban .50 caliber firearms, universal registration for long guns, and a ban on private transfer of long guns. These successes were due to the work of NRA members, the team work of NRA, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen, and many legislators, including Representatives Len Greene (R-105), Kevin DelGobbo (R-70), Steven Mikutel (D-45), Antonio Guerrera (D-29), Peter Panaroni (D-102), and Jack Stone (R-134), and Senators Anthony Guglielmo (R-35), Lou DeLuca (R-32), and John Kissel (R-7). If you live in any of these districts, please be sure to call these legislators and thank them for their work to protect the rights of law-abiding gun owners.