Tag Archives: task force

Task Force Recommendations

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Well, it appears the  Bipartisan Task Force on Gun Violence is not very bipartisan. At today’s meeting the Republicans and the Democrats each released their own competing recommendations.

The Republican list:

  • Universal Background Checks
  • Eligibility Certificate, Including Finger Prints and Completion of a Firearms Safety Course to Purchase Any Long Gun
  • Increase Purchase Age to 21 for Certain Long Guns (centerfire rifles that accept mags over 10rnds)
  • Require a Permit, Eligibility Certificate, or Hunting License to Purchase Ammo or Mags
  • Require a Permit, Eligibility Certificate, or Hunting License to Purchase Ammo Online
  • Replace 1 Public Member of the Firearms Examiners Board With a Mental Health Professional
  • Stricter Mental Health Look-backs
  • Expand Safe Storage Laws to Include All Prohibited Persons, Not Just Minors
  • Prohibition of Applications for Permits to Carry a Pistol From Any Jurisdiction Other than the Applicant’s Residence
  • No Early Release For Gun Crimes
  • Statewide Deadly Weapon Offender Registry
  • Require Municipal Permits for Gun Shows
  • Ban the Sale of Armor Piercing and Incendiary Bullets
  • Reconstitute the Statewide Firearms Trafficking Task Force
  • Increase Penalties for Firearms Trafficking and Straw Purchasing

The Democrat list:

  • Expand the definition of “assault weapon” to include 1 evil feature instead of 2
  • Require all grandfathered “assault” weapons to be registered with state
  • Ban all magazines over 10 rounds, with no grandfather clause
  • Require a permit to purchase a rifle or shotgun
  • Require a “universal” background check and DESPP approval for every sale and transfer of a firearm, including the private sale or transfer of a rifle or shotgun
  • Require, for the purchase of any ammunition, presentation of either a permit to carry a pistol or revolver or the new rifle or shotgun permit
  • Establish a statewide deadly weapon offender registry
  • Strengthen laws regarding firearms trafficking and straw purchases
  • Prohibit individuals from purchasing more than one pistol or revolver within a 30-day period
  • Expand the scope of and strengthen penalties under 53-202aa for firearms trafficking, including imposing a “mandatory minimum” fine of $10,000
  • Lower standards for the determination of a permit applicant’s “suitability” to carry a pistol or revolver
  • Specify that individuals prohibited from possessing or purchasing firearms are also prohibited from possessing or purchasing ammunition
  • Expand firearm safe storage requirements
  • Limit firearm permit applications to one per year in the town of residence
  • Increase the involuntary commitment look back period from 12 months to five years
  • Increase the fee for permits to carry a pistol or revolver
  • Require permits for gun shows
  • Eliminate or reconstitute the Board of Firearms Permit Examiners
  • Ban the sale of all armor piercing bullets
  • Eliminate the future issuance of eligibility certificates for pistols or revolvers
  • Repeal the hunting license exemption for the two week waiting period for long gun purchases
  • Prohibit the sale by dealers of handguns other than “personalized” handguns after they become commercially available
  • Prohibit the carrying of firearms into licensed day care facilities
  • Prohibit the carrying of firearms into the private residence of another or a house of worship, without permission

Task Force Meetings Today

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As I mentioned yesterday, both the Mental Health Services Working Group and the Gun Violence Prevention Working Group of the Bipartisan Task Force on Gun Violence will be holding meetings at the LOB today to finalize their recommendations. You can watch both live on TV or the internet at CT-N, the Connecticut Network.

The Mental Health group meeting starts at 10am, and will be directly followed by the Gun Violence group starting at 12:30pm. The meetings are expected to run until 6pm.

You should be able to view both meetings live online at: http://ct-n.com/webstream.asp

Turn Up The Heat!

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It’s looking like we may see some action in the next 2 weeks, maybe even as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday.
Tuesday March 5th both the Mental Health Services Working Group and the Gun Violence Prevention Working Group of the Bipartisan Task Force on Gun Violence will be holding meetings at the LOB.
On Wednesday March 6th the full House and Senate have been called into session. Some of the antigun legislators like Williams and Looney have publicly stated that they are unhappy with the time needed to follow proper procedures, and would like to push laws through quickly, without a public hearing.

It’s time to call these key legislators.
Keep the phone lines busy!
Speaker Rep. Brendan Sharkey 860-240-8577
House Minority Leader Rep. Larry Cafero 860-240-0028
House Majority Leader Rep. Joe Aresimowicz 860-240-8581
Senate Minority Leader Senator John McKinney 860-240-8846
President of the Senate Don Williams 860-240-8634
Majority Leader of the Senate Martin Looney 860-240-0375
You should also call your own local representatives as well, especially if they are on any of the Task Force committees. You can find your local reps here, and a list of all the members of the task force here.

THE SIMPLE MESSAGE:

  • Where is the toxicology report and police investigation report about Adam Lanza???
  • How can the legislature make valid recommendations without that information?Get the facts before they enact!!No emergency certification should proceed!We want public hearings for any proposed legislation on gun control, mental health and school safety.We want fully recorded votes on all bills and NO VOICE VOTES!IF YOU DON’T GET THROUGH THE FIRST TIME, KEEP CALLING UNTIL YOU GET AN ANSWER OR CAN LEAVE A VOICE MAIL.

    Be respectful but firm.

Gov. Malloy Throws Temper Tantrum – Proposes Own Gun Control

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Governor Dan Malloy sat down recently with the Journal Inquirer newspaper for an hour-long interview. In an article they published yesterday, the Governor comes across like a petulant child because he’s afraid he won’t get his way on gun control via his Bipartisan Task Force. According to the Journal News:

“It’s apparent to me that the legislature will not reach bipartisan consensus on this issue,” he (Malloy) said, sounding fed up. “I’m always being accused of trying to play this outsized role. I’ve held back. It’s not working, and I will very shortly be speaking on this issue on a fairly comprehensive basis.

“I’m not going to shy away from this issue,” the governor, a Democrat, added. “They wanted to do this — have a big panel with 50 or 60 people on the panel, and wanted to do this on a bipartisan basis and get to the same point. I’m now looking at leaders bailing out on hearings or rallies and people coming to talk about their own personal pain instead of gun control at a gun control rally.”

The last remark appears to be a dig at Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, the only Republican who spoke at a recent antigun rally in Hartford, And House Minority Leader Larry Cafero, who was scheduled to speak at the rally but pulled out when informed of its antigun agenda.

News site CT Mirror quotes Andrew Doba, Malloy’s communications director:

“At this critical juncture, in the wake of unspeakable tragedy in our own state, the governor believes that we cannot let the chance to affect real, positive change pass us by,” Doba said. “He thinks we should act quickly and decisively to make Connecticut safer.”

To that end, Governor Malloy is expected to announce his own gun control legislation today at 10 a.m., during Joe Biden’s symposium on gun violence at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury. The symposium is closed to the public, but will be broadcast and streamed on the internet by CT-N from 9am to 1pm.

Malloy is expected to propose universal background checks for all firearm purchases, a ban on standard-capacity magazines, and expanding the definition of so-called “assault weapons” to include most semiauto firearms. These will most likely be put forth by Democratic leaders as E-CERT bills, meaning no input from relevant committees like Public Safety, and no public hearings. Just like Governor Cuomo did in NY.

I’d like to give a little credit where credit is due. The Mirror quotes Democrat House Speaker J. Brendan Sharkey (who is no friend to gun owners) as saying:

“I’m disappointed with the governor’s comments. As I said before, the country is watching Connecticut to see how we react to this tragedy, and taking quick action is important, but taking smart action is more important. We are working deliberatively to be an example of how to come together on a bipartisan basis to address a very serious and complex issue. Our expectation was to act by the end of February or early March and we are still on that timeline.”

It’s not much, but it at least shows a little respect for the legislative process.

UPDATE: Right after publishing this post, I was pointed to a blog post by an active CCDL member that says a lot of the same thing. Go read her post too. http://yedies.blogspot.com/2013/02/king-dannel-has-tantrum.html

UPDATE #2: We now have the text of Malloy’s speech, and his proposed laws. See this post.

Stop Emergency Certification

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Thank you to all that testified at the Working Group hearings. Now that these hearings have completed, we must contact our own legislators today and ask them to not support any gun bills that come as a result of emergency certification. 

Please express the following:
1) Emergency Certification on firearms related bills is not the correct use of our legislative process.
 
2) We deserve hearings on specific firearms bills that are raised by a committee only.
 
3) Oppose any bill that comes to the House or Senate via Emergency Certification.
 
4) Politely remind your legislators that they work for the citizens of Connecticut, and that you are tracking what they do and how they vote. 
 
5) Express that we do not need additional gun laws. Enforce the current laws and lengthen prison sentences for criminals that conduct violent acts.  
 
6) Explain to them that the concept of “Gun Free Zones” does not work, and you support measures to increase school safety with police, security or possibly armed faculty that have received proper training.  
  
Please Call and Write Your State Representative and Your State Senator Today
 
Links for State Reps and State Senators:

Testimony For Monday’s Hearing Now Online

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Some of testimony already submitted for Monday’s Task Force Hearing on gun violence is now online. You may read it here. There are only about 170 there so far, and it’s a mix of pro and anti gun control. Unless every other gun owner in the state plans on attending the hearing Monday in person, there should be several hundred thousand more in support of our rights then I see there, Again I remind you to “Stand Up! Step Up! Speak Up, Dammit!”.

This might be the only chance you get to make your voice heard. Just to remind you, there are already over 60 bills working their way through Hartford, and all but a handful will restrict your rights to own and shoot your gun. Even if the only gun you own is a revolver, or a double barrel shotgun, you WILL be effected as well. Here’s a reminder of just some of the proposed laws:

  • A ban on virtually all semiauto rifles classifying them as “Assault Weapons.”
  • Restricting magazine size to 10 rounds, 6 rounds, 5 rounds or even just 1 round.
  • Confiscating all magazines holding more than 10, 6, 5 or 1 rounds, pistols included.
  • Statewide gun registration for all firearms.
  • Re-registration every 2 years with ever increasing fees.
  • Requiring permits for any rifle with a pistol grip.
  • Limits on how much ammunition you can purchase and possess.
  • Registration and background checks on all ammo purchases.
  • Banning of internet sales of ammo.
  • Mandatory gun storage laws, like the one the U.S. Supreme Court struck down in the Heller decision.

If you can’t attend the hearing Monday, at least email your thoughts to the Task Force. If you need help or suggestions with your testimony, see our tip sheet for some helpful hints.

For past posts on this subject, click here.

 

A Plea from CCDL President

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Greetings fellow CCDL Members,

This is a personal request that I am sending out to you. It is absolutely crucial that gun owners show up in force for the Gun Violence Hearing this coming Monday. The landscape of 2nd Amendment freedoms that we currently enjoy are all on the line as of right now. Please consider taking a vacation day from work, or please make a plan to otherwise be there. 

Gun Violence Prevention Working Group Public Hearing
Monday, January 28th, 2013
Legislative Office Building
10:00am, Room 2C
The Legislative Office Building is located at 300 Capitol Avenue, Hartford.

 
The severity in which anti-gun bills are being generated has far surpassed any historical record that the State of Connecticut has ever seen. The only way to hopefully stop this, is to let your voices be heard by the lawmakers of our State.

With utmost urgency and sincerity,

Scott Wilson
President
CCDL, Inc.

For more info see these previous posts.

Member Update

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To our members: While we just sent out an email last night stating extra copies of testimony were not needed with the email address to use for the task force hearings, as of today, we STRONGLY encourage you to bring 30 copies of your testimony to the task force hearings. We have been informed that possibly the committee email may not be utilized by every committee member, so extra copies of the testimony would cover all committee members. We apologize for any confusion and will keep our members updated to the best of our ability.

Task Force Website

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The Connecticut General Assembly’s Bipartisan Task Force on Gun Violence and Children’s Safety has finally put up a website as promised. It can be found at http://www.cga.ct.gov/asaferconnecticut/

It lists the various subgroups and when they will be hearing public testimony. It also contains an email address you can submit testimony to if you can’t attend. asaferconnecticut@cga.ct.gov  Please indicate in the subject of your email to which working group(s) you would like your testimony directed (gun violence prevention, school security, and/or mental health services). Please be aware that any submitted testimony may be made public.

 

Please, please PLEASE try to attend at least one of these hearings. If you don’t know why this is so important, check out previous posts here, here, and here.

Remember, these hearings don’t address any one specific bill. They will be submitting one AFTER all the hearings based upon all the testimony. These hearings are also not to address the dozens of specific bills already out there. Keep it general, but stick to the topic of violence in schools and how it relates to the topic of the hearing you attend. Keep it to one page, but make sure you tell them you don’t want ANY more restrictions on our rights, and tell them why restricting your rights will do nothing to reduce school violence.
Also remember what you send becomes public record, don’t say anything you don’t want your mother or your boss to read.