Connecticut: Committee to Vote on Gun Bills

On April 3^rd, the Connecticut state Joint Committee on Judiciary will be voting on a number of bills affecting your Second Amendment rights in Connecticut.  Please contact committee members and urge them to SUPPORT House Bills 5538 and 5539, and OPPOSE House Bills 5540, and 5542.  Click the “Take Action” button below to contact committee members and call them at (860) 240‑0530.

House Bill 5538 would create the option of a lifetime, non-expiring ammunition certificate for a $100 fee.  The current ammunition certificate is for a duration of five years for a $35 fee.  This bill would reduce the time, fees, and paperwork associated with renewing permits that expire after arbitrary time periods.

House Bill 5539 would allow holders of Pistol Permits or Long Gun Eligibility Certificates to carry firearms in state parks.  Gun Free Zones have been shown time and time again to create “soft targets” for those wishing to do harm and expanding the locations where permitted citizens may carry will only add to the community’s safety.

House Bill 5540, sponsored by Representative William Tong (D-147), would essentially end the centuries old practice of manufacturing firearms for personal use by imposing requirements that far exceed those in federal law.  The bill language is so broad that nearly any solid, raw materials could also be considered a “firearm.”  Manufacturing or transferring a “firearm” without a serial number would be a Class C felony with a mandatory sentence of at least two years imprisonment and a fine of $5000.  It would require serial numbers be applied to “firearms” in a manner requiring equipment that hobbyists do not usually have or can afford, and that federal regulations only require from licensed manufacturers.  It also imposes a requirement that firearms made from plastic contain an arbitrary steel alloy that has no effect on the detectability.  Federal law already mandates that firearms contain a certain amount of metal content.

In a massive intrusion into private lives, HB 5540 would also allow for an interview process of family members for the issuance of pistol permits.  It would place no limits on the state’s investigative power, allowing for the interviewing of family members regardless of the frequency of their contact with applicants, essentially giving a veto over an application to exercise a constitutional right to family members.

House Bill 5542, requested by Governor Dannel Malloy and co-sponsored by Representative Fred Camillo (R-151), would ban any firearm parts or accessories that mechanically increase the rate of fire of a firearm in any way.  The broad and overreaching provisions of this bill could criminalize firearm modifications commonly done by law-abiding gun owners to make their firearms more suitable for self-defense, competition, hunting, or even overcoming disability.

Again, please click the “Take Action” button and also call (860) 240‑0530 to contact members of the Joint Committee on Judiciary and urge them to SUPPORT House Bills 5538 and 5539, and OPPOSE House Bills 5540 and 5542.