Task Force Shares Public Safety Proposals

State Senator Kevin Witkos, right, speaks during a meeting of the gun violence prevention working group at the Legislative Office Building on Tuesday, March 5th.

Over the past few months, I have had the opportunity to take part in an important process as a member of the legislature’s Bipartisan Task Force on Gun Violence Prevention and Children’s Safety. After serving nearly three decades in law enforcement, I was honored to be able to share some of my experience as a former police officer and volunteer fire chief with my fellow legislators. Several weeks ago, I wrote about the school safety recommendations that were recently provided to legislative leadership.

Last Tuesday, the gun violence prevention working group also released their recommendations. Both Republican and Democratic legislators shared their ideas in two separate reports. Most of the proposals were supported by both sides with only a few key differences. In this week’s column, I would like to share some of the proposals and discuss why this process is important to both ensure public safety and protect the rights that are guaranteed by the Constitution.

After sitting through several committee meetings and public hearings, I heard testimony that supported taking steps to restrict ownership of firearms for those who should not have access to firearms. These steps include universal background checks, a new eligibility certificate to purchase a long gun, increasing the purchase age from 18 to 21 for certain long guns, expanding the mental health look-back period and requiring stricter storage of firearms.

Unfortunately, there are those who manage to gain possession of firearms through unlawful means. To better prevent gun violence, the working group also recommended strengthening current law and improving enforcement. These proposals include increasing penalties for firearms trafficking and straw purchasing, ending early release from prison for those convicted of gun crimes, creating a statewide deadly weapon offender registry and reconstituting the statewide firearms trafficking task force.

Some legislators were concerned about several proposals or believed that other important recommendations should have been included. For example, some have argued that this is a delicate debate that should not exclude handguns, which are the predominant firearm used in most of the violent crimes committed throughout our state.

Additionally, while there has been some discussion about banning magazines with more than 10 rounds, the proposal would require every owner to turn them in or dispose of them with no compensation by October 1, 2013. Some believe that this proposal could be deemed unconstitutional after they were purchased by law-abiding residents.

Ultimately, our intention is to improve public safety and protect the rights that are guaranteed by the Constitution. If you would like to read more about these proposals, including recommendations from each of the three working groups, please visit the A Safer Connecticut website at www.cga.ct.gov/ASaferConnecticut.