Senator Witkos Discusses Law Enforcement and Gun Safety on WNPR’s Where We Live

Article as it appeared on the Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network website on January 15, 2013

Police Roundtable on Gun Violence

We talk to current and former police officers who carry guns

The recommendations on gun safety from Vice President Biden to President Obama include: requiring background checks for all gun sales, banning the sale of certain rapid-fire weapons and ensuring mentally ill people can’t acquire guns

Other proposals like these are being considered at the state houses in Hartford and Albany. Since the Sandy Hook shootings, we’ve been talking a lot about guns: about magazine capacities and 2nd Amendment rights. About “assault weapons” and arming teachers.

But frankly – most of us in the media and in state legislatures don’t know much about guns. We don’t own them, haven’t used them recreationally – much less professionally.

Police are literally in the line of fire every day. They carry weapons, hoping to never have to use them. They they know their power and their limitations, and their role in crime in America.

So today, where we live, conversation with current and former police officers about guns.