HARTFORD, CT – Senate Democrats gathered Monday at the Legislative Office Building to commemorate the anniversary of the effective date of Connecticut’s most recent gun control laws while Republicans accused them of playing politics in an election year.
“We are having this event this morning to mark the first anniversary of the effective date of the gun-regulation bill that we passed in the 2023 legislative session,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, D-New Haven. “It’s an important addition to our nation-leading legislation on trying to make sure that we have responsible gun ownership and security in the state of Connecticut.”
House Bill 6667, “An Act Addressing Gun Violence,” was signed into law June 6, 2023, and took effect a year ago amid Republican opposition. Some of the law’s major provisions include:
- A ban on open-carry of firearms across the state;
- A reduction in the bulk purchase of guns by barring the sale of more than three handguns to an individual or six handguns to an instructor in a 30-day period;
- Closure of loopholes in the state’s assault weapon ban, and;
- Expansion of the state’s safe storage law, among other elements.
Last year’s law was the most significant change in Connecticut’s gun laws since the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in 2012, where 20 children and six adults were killed by a gunman using a semiautomatic assault rifle and several other weapons. In response, the state passed PA-13-3, which banned several types of assault-style weapons, high-capacity magazines and instituted universal background checks for gun sales in the state.
The Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre continues to cast a long shadow over the state, and multiple senators referenced it when explaining their support for the law.
“Many of us remember back when Sandy Hook happened and the fact is, that shooting shook us all to our core on that day,” said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk. “I live about 40 minutes from there. The principal of our school had a daughter who went there. We had a teacher at my kid’s elementary school at the time who had a child at Sandy Hook that day. So for all of us in such a small state, we many times know people who were there and we have some sort of a connection, so therefore after that we have really worked hard to pass a number of gun reform bills that have made our state much safer.”
Sen. Julie Kushner, D-Danbury, described the impact the Sandy Hook shooting had on her family.
“Let me start by saying, Senator Duff, when you mentioned how Sandy Hook impacted all of us in such a small state, being from Danbury, all three of my children knew someone who was killed on that terrible day in December. And it’s something that stays with you forever,” she said. “And so for me, it’s really something so widely supported by our community. I know this is what our constituents want. I know this is what people need us to do when we’re up in Hartford. So I really appreciate the leadership of Senator Looney and Senator Duff in making sure that every year we’re looking at ways that we can work and we can pass laws that reduce gun violence.”
Senate Republicans responded to the press conference with a written statement:
“What a shock: With Election Day five weeks away, Democrats are playing politics,” said Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding, R-Brookfield. “Republicans in 2023 sought to enhance and strengthen the legislation regarding illegal gun crimes. Republicans have consistently been the Party of Public Safety, while Connecticut Democrats provide lip service when addressing actual gun crime in our urban and poverty-stricken areas. It speaks volumes that Connecticut Democrats are avoiding talking about lowering our electric bills, reducing the cost of groceries and lowering insurance rates. It also speaks volumes that Democrats refuse to address the illegal immigration wave which is impacting public safety and budgets here in Connecticut and throughout the nation. Connecticut Republicans will continue to stand for reasonable, common sense policies which make our communities safer. Democrats will continue to posture and play political games.”
Progress in preventing gun violence has proven to be fitful in the state. According to research conducted by the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence, pre-Covid gun deaths in the state spiked in 2012, the same year as the Sandy Hook shooting, before dropping precipitously in 2013. However, gun deaths rose slowly but consistently through 2019.
However, gun violence statistics since Covid have begun moving in the opposite direction. Mayor Arunan Arulampalam and interim Hartford police chief Kenny Howell recently shared that gun violence is down in the capitol city so far this year. The number of shooting victims in Hartford has decreased since 2022, and 2024 is on track to have the lowest number of shooting victims since 2006, the earliest year in which data is available. A similar trend was noted in New Haven, where the number of gunshot victims has also decreased for two consecutive years.