First in a Series on Connecticut’s Gun Laws
Connecticut Ranked Fourth Highest for Strong Gun Laws
The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence (LCPGV) ranks Connecticut fourth among the 10 states with the strongest gun laws. California is ranked first, New Jersey second, and Massachusetts third (http://smartgunlaws.org/gun-laws-matter-2012-understanding-the-link-between-weak-laws-and-gun-violence/ ).
The Law Center’s rankings are based on 29 criteria which can be downloaded from http://smartgunlaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Point-Assignment-Methodology.pdf. The criteria focus, among other things, on whether background checks and mental health reporting are required by state law, whether the law has loose or strict regulation of assault weapons, and the extent to which state laws limit the issuance of pistol permits or allow pistols to be carried with no permits.
States with the Weakest Gun Laws
Nine of the ten states with the weakest gun laws are either in the West, the Midwest, or the South (South Dakota, Arizona, Mississippi, Louisiana, Montana, Wyoming, Kentucky, Kansas, and Oklahoma) The tenth state with the weakest gun laws— it actually ranks fifth among the ten— is Vermont which, among other factors, allows its citizens to carry concealed guns without a permit.
Strong Gun Laws = Low Death Rates
LCPVG finds a direct correlation between strong gun laws and low gun death rates. Seven of the 10 states with the strongest gun laws are also among the 10 states having the lowest gun death rates. Connecticut is among those seven:
Top 10 States with the Strongest Gun Laws
Top 10 States with the Lowest Gun Death Rates
California
New Jersey
Massachusetts
Connecticut
Hawaii
New York
Maryland
Illinois
Rhode Island
Michigan
Hawaii
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
New York
New Jersey
Connecticut
Minnesota
Iowa
California
Maine
Strengths in Connecticut’s Gun laws
LCPGV cites ten strengths in Connecticut’s gun laws. Among other factors, Connecticut
- Requires background checks before a handgun can be transferred between individuals who are not licensed firearm dealers;
- Conducts its own background checks rather than relying on the FBI;
- Requires owners to report the loss or theft of any firearm; and
- Allows local governments to deny as well as issue concealed carry permits.
Weaknesses in Connecticut’s Gun Laws
According to LCPGV, Connecticut does not
- Limit the number of firearms that can be purchased at any one time; or
- Regulate ammunition sales.
Since Connecticut does not regulate ammunition sales, any qualified person can buy any number of high-capacity magazines (“clips”) capable of holding 10, 20, 30, 50, or as many as 100 rounds.
An advertisement in a December 2010 issue of a gun magazine pictures five high-capacity magazines. Two of them can hold 100 rounds; the other three hold 75 rounds.
Next Post
In the next post we will take a closer look at Connecticut’s firearms laws.
Sources and Notes
LCPGV’s Connecticut State Law Summary can be accessed at http://smartgunlaws.org/connecticut-state-law-summary/, This page has links to Connecticut’s firearms laws.
The advertisement for high-capacity ammunition clips can be viewed on p. 4 of an online publication of the Violence Policy Center headquartered in Washington, D.C. (http://www.vpc.org/studies/accessories.pdf).
Barbara Zuras
It is important for those who are engaged in this discussion to be honest and accurate, and not use scare tactics or misleading terms to promote their position.
Think about it, Peter, if I put a hood scoop on my car, does that mean I now have a muscle car? (Kind of like putting a handle on a gun and painting it black; doesn't make it an assault rifle.)
The first assault rifle was introduced in 1944 and was the first to combine characteristics of sub-machine guns with the accuracy of single shot rifles. Up till this point, weapons of this nature did not exist. Sub-machine guns of the time (MP-38, Thompson, etc.) used pistol rounds and weren't completely accurate accept in close combat situations. Rifles were very accurate at long range but lacked the ability to place more than one round at a time (with one squeeze of the trigger) on a target. Heavy machine guns were fixed mount weapons and were difficult to wield around on the battlefield. (Continued below)
So, a condition existed for a weapon that combined these characteristics - automatic fire capability, accuracy at long range, and the ability for one soldier to easily maneuver with it on the battlefield. Hence, the SG-44 was born, also known as the Sturmgewehr (which translates to English as assault rifle). The assault rifle class didn’t exist previously. All assault rifles introduced since (AK-47, M-16, etc.) have similar characteristics. So, just because a gun looks like an M-16, AK-47 or SG-44, doesn’t mean it operates like one. Consequently, just because a CT politician in 1991 wants to develop his or her own definition of an assault rifle, doesn’t mean that a semi-automatic rifle painted black is technically an assault rifle. Again, I can't be more clear, if a rifle does not have burst or fully-automatic characteristics, then it is not an assault rifle, no matter what the CT politicians say.
I don't have a newsletter—just this blog, which will focus exclusively on Connecticut's gun laws. So I look forward to writing for you and and other Avon-ites about this very timely and important subject. I imagine IO'll be posting every other day. I plan the next post to go in Friday and the following one on Monday. Until then!
Look at Washington DC and Chicago. They essentially have banned ll guns for decades. Yet, they have shy high murder rates. If you want cites, try looking at the academic articles listed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/More_Guns,_Less_Crime
Today Show - no rifles used in Newtown shooting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGn4o1Lb6L0