The Joint Committee on Judiciary for the state of Connecticut voted on multiple gun bills on April 3. The vote came after hours of debate on all of the bills present in front of the committee. The committee voted to push bills that would regulate bump stock ammunition and ghost guns towards the full legislature of the state. The bump stock bill moved forward with a vote of 36-5. The vote to advance the ghost gun bill came in at 25-16.
Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy has spoken in favor of legislation regulating bump stock ammunition and ghost guns. He called the vote in favor of moving these bills forward to the full legislature ‘common sense.’
Bump stocks helps to enhance a semi-automatic weapon’s rate of fire. It was used by the shooter at the Las Vegas concert that killed 58 people. Ghost guns are guns that are built using kits. The parts are bought online and do not have serial numbers on them, making them harder to track by law enforcement and other agencies. Ghost guns can be purchased without a background check or license.
Connecticut can become the sixth state to ban bump stock devices if the bill passes in the General Assembly.
“Mass shootings have taken over the news the past handful of years all across the country,” Peter G. Billings, of Billings & Barrett, said. “Being in possession of a bump stock device or a ghost gun could put you behind bars for quite a long time. Learn the gun laws before deciding to purchase a firearm so you can protect yourself from possible charges.”
The debate over these two bills took place on March 23 and lasted for more than 10 hours. Written testimony from 300 people was submitted. Testimony was also given by advocacy groups whose sole focus does not center around gun control, including the Connecticut Voices for Children.
Both bills were heavily debated, with opposition to the ban on ghost guns receiving the most heated debate. Most who spoke out against the ghost gun bill were concerned with the ambiguity of the language used in the bill presented to the Joint Committee on Judiciary.
