Gov. Malloy signs historic gun control bill [Torrington Register Citizen]

Article as it appeared in the Register Citizen

By Mary E. O’Leary
[email protected] / Twitter: @nhrmoleary

HARTFORD — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy Thursday signed a sweeping new gun bill into law .

After 14 hours of debate, lawmakers in the Connecticut adopted sweeping changes to its gun laws that also addressed mental health reforms and money to make schools more secure as its response to the massacre of 20 children and six educators at the Sandy Hook Elementary School more than three months ago.

The House voted 105 to 44 at 2:30 a.m., concluding weeks of negotiations among the leaders and more than 60 hours of public input.

The historic agreement was reached on the 45th anniversary of another violent gun death — the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

The outcome was never in doubt, and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed the bill Thursday afternoon.

The aim was to be bipartisan with six Republicans joining 20 Democrats in the Senate, while two members of the majority party voted against the bill as too burdensome for gun owners.

In the House, 13 Democrats voted no, while 20 Republicans voted yes.

Paying for the programs and changes through fiscal 2015, according to the Office of Fiscal Analysis, is estimated at some $17 million.

The first speaker, as the Senate session got under way was Sen. President Pro Temp Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn, one of six leaders from the Senate and House who negotiated the bipartisan bill over the past several weeks.

He reminded them of what happened on Dec. 14 when 20 first-graders and six educators were murdered by Adam Lanza at the Sandy Hook Elementary School with a Bushmaster AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, “a weapon of war” that will now be added to a list of banned assault weapons in the state expected to swell to more than 166 firearms.

The bill also bans magazines with more than 10 rounds and while it allows persons who already own magazines with a larger capacity to keep them, they are restricted to their homes and for use on a shooting range. They also must register them with the state by Jan. 1, 2014.

The exceptions on maintaining ownership and the registration requirement are believed to be unique in the nation.

Williams said the Newtown tragedy demanded “a response that transcends politics.”

State Sen.Majority Leader Martin Looney, D-New Haven, said parts of the bill go back to a debate that started in 1993 and continued in 2001 and 2011. He said there are substantive elements on improving mental health with transparency on insurance decisions never afforded before, as well as tough gun reform to reduce violence.

“This is historic legislation for our state and the nation,”.Looney said that “comes to us out of the terrible crucible of Newtown.” He said lawmakers could be proud of the process, as well as the substance of the bill.

It includes a universal background check, a dangerous weapons offender registry, training for school personnel to recognize mental health issues among children, threat assessment teams at colleges, new eligibility certificates to buy any rifle, shotgun or ammunition, stricter firearms storage rules and tougher penalties for weapons trafficking, among other things.

State House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero, R-Norwalk, said “there has been a cloud over us – there has been a sadness” since the murders on Dec. 14. “We are a state in mourning over this tragedy.”

He said every provision got a hearing over the months and he defended the “reality” of the provisions, while denouncing the “myths” and misinterpretations.” The bill is a compromise. It is a process,” Cafero said that looked to protection of the Second Amendment and public safety.

State Sen. John McKinney. R-Fairfield, who represents Newtown, said the massacre at the school changed his life forever, like it changed the lives of so many. He said it was the most important issue he faced in his 14 years in the General Assembly and he was heartened by the immense involvement of citizens on both sides of the debate. He ended his appeal by reading the names of each of the victims.

House Speaker Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden, speaking of the process, said it was a challenge to keep everyone in the room to arrive at a compromise, but he thinks it is a good one.

“I hope that this, in addition to being good policy, is an appropriate testament and legacy for the victims and their families for what happened on Dec. 14,” Sharkey said.

Personally, he favored banning possession of magazines with more than 10 rounds, but dropping it was necessary to get a deal.

Sen. Andrew Maynard of Stonington said he did not feel the bill infringed on gun owners constitutional rights, but he understood why they “deeply resent” the implication that they can’t be trusted and that they will be burdened “with a new set of regulations. I just don’t have a comfort level with a bill that goes that far.”

He asked his colleagues to correct any excesses that may become apparent and to maintain respect for those who think differently about government than they do.

Maynard was one of the two Senate Democrats who voted against the bill. State Sen. Catherine Osten, D-Sprague, was the other, which demonstrated the divide on the bill between those in rural areas and the cities.

Osten said citizens have the right to bear arms and this bill imposes unnecessary burdens on them. She said it “gives a false sense of security and doesn’t stop those who choose to act badly. Adam Lanza is the one we should hold accountable today not the legal gun owners in this state.”

Lanza murdered the 26 victims at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.

Osten, like others, said the issue was mental health treatment with 25 percent of the 20,000 people in prison in Connecticut. “There is no other spot for them,” Osten said.

State Rep. John Frey, R-Ridgefield, had the House chamber riveted with his personal story of the tragedy at Sandy Hook. He said his sister was the one who picked up five of the 11 first-graders who escaped Lanza’s shooting spree, possibly as his magazine jammed.

State Rep. David Alexander, D-Enfield, an officer in the Marine Reserve, said civilians should not have access to assault weapons and magazines should be limited for safety purposes with background checks. “There are some things in the military that are more stringent than they are in Connecticut,” Alexander said, particularly on controlling magazines.

“Accountability matters,” Alexander said, who called the majority of items in the bill “common sense.”

State Rep. Roland Lemar, D-New Haven, said the bill will help reduce violence in the cities. State Rep. Patricia Dillon, another Democrat from New Haven, agreed with him and emphasized the role of behavioral health services in doing that.

“Someone who is a witness to a violent crime is at greater risk for being a victim and a perpetrator.Development issues don’t have to become development problems,” Dillon said.

“I think when people talk about mental health, they really mean they want to find the next Adam Lanza and I don’t know if we can do that … But it is true that many developmental issues do not have to become development problems.”

She said the friends and family of some children in her district have been murdered.Some react with nightmares, others react by feeling they need a gun “at age nine,” Dillon said.

A motion by state Rep. Arthur O’Neill. R-Southbury, in the House that would have split up the bill into separate components and necessitated it going back to the Senate failed early in the debate.

The longest set of questions in the House came from state Rep. Craig Miner, R-Litchfield, who grilled the Democratic proponents about the specifics of violations that gun owners faced once the bill became law. An amendment that would have thrown out the bill and returned to consensus items reached weeks ago died with 104 votes against and 45 in favor.

State Sen. Toni Boucher, R-New Caanan, one of the six Republican senators to vote in favor, said the bill addresses important controls on firearms and also begins an effort to improve mental health services. Boucher said if it does go too far in some aspects, those can be challenged in the courts.

Sen. Michael McLaughlin, R-Danbury, one of the most conservative members of the Senate, said the events at Newtown caused him to “really look at things differently – hopefully objectively.”

He was assured that the bill will be ruled constitutional because the high capacity magazines currently owned will be grandfathered. McLaughlan said he hoped by voting yes, “I am properly honoring Caroline Previdi,” one of the six children murdered at Sandy Hook.

The session followed a boisterous demonstration by pro-gun advocates who were bused to the Capitol with the help of the National Rifle Association.

The crowd of pro-gun advocates rocked the Capitol Wednesday with shouts of “just vote no” ringing from mutlitple floors as some lawmakers walked through to begin what was expected to be a long day leading up to an historic vote on sweeping reforms. The outcome was never in doubt.

Malloy, for security reasons, did not make an appearance at an event on autism down the hall from his office, where he would have had to walk past the protesters.

“When the governor’s security detail makes a decision on an event, we don’t question that determination. We have no further comment,” Andrew Doba, Malloy’s spokesman said in a statement.

The first speaker, as the Senate session got under way was Sen. President Pro Temp Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn, one of six leaders from the Senate and House who negotiated the bipartisan bill over the past several weeks.

He reminded them of what happened on Dec. 14 when 20 first-graders and six educators were murdered by Lanza at the Sandy Hook Elementary School with a Bushmaster AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, “a weapon of war” that will now be added to a list of banned assault weapons in the state expected to swell to more than 166 firearms.

The bill also bans magazines with more than 10 rounds and while it allows persons who already own magazines with a larger capacity to keep them, they are restricted to their homes and for use on a shooting range. They also must register them with the state by Jan. 1, 2014.

The exceptions on maintaining ownership and the registration requirement are believed to be unique in the nation.

Williams said the Newtown tragedy demanded “a response that transcends politics.”

“Vote with me on behalf of the children who will live with the horrific event for the rest of their lives,” said state Sen. Toni Harp, D-New Haven, who spoke of the lifelong impact of such traumatic incidents on the survivors and the need to intervene early when behavior problems arise.

State Sen. Len Fasano, R-North Haven, said the bill is not a perfect solution but he congratulated the leaders for reaching the necessary compromise to move it forward.

For the first hour the Senate leaders read the details of the bill which includes a universal background check, a dangerous weapons offender registry, training for school personnel to recognize mental health issues among children, threat assessment teams at colleges, new eligibility certificates to buy any rifle, shotgun or ammunition, stricter firearms storage rules and tou

State Rep. Terrie Wood, R-Darien, said one of the most important aspects of the bill was the advancement of behavioral health and the destigmatization of mental health treatment.

State Rep. David Alexander, D-Enfield, an officer in the Marine Reserve, said civilians should not have access to assault weapons and magazines should be limited for safety purposes with background checks. “There are somethings in the military that are more stringent than they are in Connecticut,” Alexander said, particularly controlling magazines.

“Accountability matters,” Alexander said, who called the majority of items in the bill “common sense.”

gher penalties for weapons trafficking, among other things.

Meanwhile, pretty much resigned to defeat, the gun advocates were already looking beyond the vote to their next steps.

“After this is all over with, we will probably start working on court cases and clearly we will be working on ratings for election next year ,” said Bob Crook, president of the Connecticut Coalition of Sportsmen.

He said the bill was “worthless” in that it would not have stopped what happened at Newtown. “It attacks law-abiding gun owners,” Crook said of a common theme expressed by the gun-owners.

Crook said those gun owners have no plans to give their firearms to “deranged” people like Nancy Lanza, Adam’s mother did, thus allowing the tragedy at Sandy Hook to unfold.

Details on Adam Lanza’s mental state are still not clear, but seach warrants of his home found an arsenal of weapons and ammunition, while other reports indicated he was fascinated with previous mass murders, creating a 7- foot scorecard with details on those victims and the weapons used. Adam Lanza had been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome .

Dwight Slocum of East Hartford held up a sign, “Dump Dan the Dictator,” referring to Malloy, who is expected to quickly sign the legislation when it is adopted, possibly as early as today.

Looney was briefly booed from the small Senate gallery when he said the provisions in the bill will not violate anyone’s Second Amendment rights.

State Sen. John Kissel, R-Enfield, to cheers from the gallery, said making gun ownership harder was not the way to go, as he emphasized the need for better mental health access. The outburst brought a second reminder from Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman of the rules against interrupting the debate.

“This is not an easy vote for any of us,” Kissel said, who wished there was a way to come up the the perfect solution and allow citizens to own firearms to protect themselves while guaranteeing there would never again be mass slayings in the United States, which has seen multiple incidents in the last decades,

“I don’t believe that to be the case,” Kissel said of the proposed reforms. “Incrementalism is a real concern,” Kissel said of the fear from gun owners that the next step is to take their weapons.

State Sen. Edward Meyers, D-Branford, defended the proposal to limit the size of gun magazines given that 11 children were able to escape Lanza’s murderous rampage when he stopped to reload his Bushmaster. He said Americans are “too much obsessed” with assault weapons and high capacity magazines.

“In the minds of many of us and our consitutents, what we’re doing today is a work in progress,” said Meyer, who wants to ban possession of large capacity magazines. At one point he held up a magazine with 60 rounds. “Those people who have this magazine would be able to keep it,” he said.

Sen. Tony Guglielmo, R-Stafford Springs, fears the state will lose gun manufacturing jobs if the bill is passed. He favors the tough gun trafficking elements, but most of the items he could not vote for.

“I can’t connect the dots between Adam Lanza and the good guys,” Guglielmo said. He said the Senate should vote for something good, not something that feels good.

State Sen. Eric Coleman, D-Bloomfield, said he believes the law meets constitutional muster and will help prevent another Newtown.

The first amendment was called by Sen. Scott Frantz, R-Greenwich, who wanted to remove any reference to shotguns or ammunition for shotguns in the bill.

Williams objected and said they were trying to be consistent on the new rules for all ammunition, which for the first time would require an eligibility certificate or a permit to carry a pistol and a backgrouind check to purchase ammunition.

The amendment was killed 11 to 25 with most Republicans in favor; a second one on allowing 17 rounds for handguns and long guns died 10 to 26, while making an exception for .22 caliber ammunition also died 10 against, 26 in favor.

Sen.Gary LeBeau, D-East Hartford, said there were over 60 hours of hearings leading up to this vote on gun control. “I believe what has come out of this is a balanced bill,” he said.

He said there is “no right that is unabridged .. the question is are these abridgments reasonable and I think they are.” LeBeau criticized Kissel who appealed to “fear” over what happens tomorrow.

Sen. Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, who urged passage said their responsibility is to “pass laws without passion or prejudice.”

Sen. Beth Bye, D-West Harttford, called the bill and the vote “democracy in action.” She said it makes the state safer. Her voice wavering, said it only took five minutes to kill 26 people in Newtown, the same amount needed to give her remarks. She remembered Ana Grace Marquez-Greene, one of the 20 children slaughtered at Sandy Hook.

“Ana Grace would have turned 7 this week,” Bye said, fighting back tears..

State Sen. Joe Markley, R-Southington, compared restricting guns to the prohibitions on alcohol that failed. He said every weapon is an assault weapon if it is used “to assault.”

“We are not really addressing what the problem is,” said Markley, who rejected the argument that the biggest issue was large capacity magazines.

“It’s the finger on the trigger and the only thing to control that is the mind of the person holding that trigger,” Markley said, expressing bafflement as to what Lanza was thinking and said he had a “kind of possession” that can’t be legislated against.

Markley, like Kissel, said gun owners are correct to be suspicious about the confiscation of weapons. An amendment he offered stripping out most of the gun changes and leaving some things on mental health and school security failed with 11 in favor and 25 opposed, reflecting the previous votes mainly along party lines. Markley said lawmakers should have had more time to examine the final bill.

Another amendment by Markley, that would have repealed the earned risk reduction program for criminals, also died, but by a greater margin – all 14 Republicans in favor and 22 Democrats against.

State Sen. Joan Hartley, D-Waterbury, says everyone who testified in the long hearing held on a similar bill, “was on equal footing” and while lawmakers cannot guarantee that there will never again be a mass shooting, they had “to try do better.”

State Sen. Steve Cassano, D-Manchester, didn’t buy the argument of the gun manufacturers that people will no longer buy the brands they like because they are made in Connecticut.

Republican state Sen. Jason Welch said voting for the bill would come “at the cost of liberty.” He said it “doesn’t get at the heart of evil” as expressed by Lanza.

State Sen. Art Linares, R-Westbrook, feels the bill imposes “unnecessary harm” on gun owners and lawmakers “missed an opportunity” to reform its mental health system thoroughly.

The owners of Stag Arms and Ammunition Storage Components visited the Capitol early inthe day to express their concerns about concrete problems for them on how to deal with firearms and magazines that are already under contract but not delivered. Stag Arms has a two year backlog of its popular assault weapons, all of which would be banned under the bill.

Jonathan Scalise, president and owner of Ammunition Storage Components, which makes magazines, among other items, said he is worried about some of the pratical implications, such as transporting a large order of high capacity magazines for testing to a shooting range or for delivery to an out of state purchase.

Mark Malkowski, president of Stag Arms, where all of its assault weapons would be on the banned list, said he also needs clarification on present orders not yet sent to the buyer before the law goes into effect.

The bill does not prohibit the manufacture of firearms in the state where the weapons industry accounts for 2,899 jobs, a number that increases by 4,441 when suppliers and indirect jobs are added to the mix.

Both Scalise and Malkowski say they are weighing leaving the state, but University of Connecticut economist Steven Lanza questioned how likely that is given the small size of the Connecticut market that would be closed to them.