Ray Bevis, a legislative coordinator from the Connecticut Citizens Defense League, spoke at the Danielson Veterans Coffeehouse, on Aug. 6.
The CCDL is a Connecticut-based, grassroots, advocacy group whose mission is to preserve the 2nd Amendment. The group monitors firearm-related legislation.
Bevis shared information on three bills that were approved by the CT General Assembly. They will become effective Oct. 1. One dealt with the safe storage of firearms in the home, another with ghost guns, and a third with the storage of pistols and revolvers in a motor vehicle.
There are flaws in all of the bills that put an undue burden on legal gun owners, according to Bevis.
House Bill 7218, or Ethan’s Law, requires gun owners to lock their loaded as well as unloaded firearms. Previous law required only loaded weapons be kept locked. The new law will require gun owners to lock all their firearms, even antique rifles displayed over mantles, provided the guns are operational.
The bill also requires that the State Board of Education develop guides to help local and regional Boards of Education develop firearms safety programs for public school students in grades kindergarten to grade 12. A student’s parent or legal guardian can excuse him/her from participation.
The bill is dubbed “Ethan’s Law” after Ethan Song, a Connecticut teen, who accidentally shot and killed himself.
House Bill 7219 is an act concerning ghost guns. Ghost guns are guns without serial numbers. They can be guns that have had their serial numbers removed, or guns manufactured from parts.
The bill makes it illegal to remove, deface, alter, or obliterate any firearm’s unique serial number. It also requires any person manufacturing a firearm to get a serial number from the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. A gun owner must engrave that number permanently within 30 days.
The law applies to gun parts that can be bought and put together to form a firearm. Those individual parts aren’t required to have serial numbers on them, making them nearly impossible to trace.
Bevis found the requirement to notify the state when marking the firearm to be problematic.
“We all know where registration ends up,” he said. “Registration leads to confiscation.”
A study conducted by CCDL found some of the state’s gun database outdated. The organization surveyed its own members about information the state had on file regarding the firearms they owned. Bevis said seven out of 10 CCDL members found outdated or incorrect information on file.
House Bill 7223, an act concerning the storage of a pistol or revolver in a motor vehicle, requires all guns to be in a locked safe, a locked glove box, or in a trunk when a motor vehicle is unattended. Age limits, gun barrel sizes, and number of violations make this more than an inconvenience to gun owners, Bevis said.
“You stop for gas or a cup of coffee and you’re liable,” Bevis said. “If you bring three guns to the gun range for a day of practice, the offense for the first gun is a misdemeanor. The two other guns would classify as class D felonies.”
There are exemptions for police and others working in a range of positions that require firearms to be carried.
There is also some wiggle room. The court may order suspension of prosecution if the court finds a violation not to be of a serious nature.
Bevis believes that stopping mass shootings requires a holistic approach, one that a focus on gun control won’t fix.
“We need to look at the epidemic of violence in this country,” he said.
Air Force veteran Chuck Lalumiere is a gun rights advocate who agrees. He was surprised that someone hadn’t stopped the El Paso shooter who killed 22 people at a Walmart, on Aug. 3.
“Texas has one of the loosest gun laws in the country,” Lalumiere said. “An armed person could have saved lives. I think more people should carry.”
US Navy veteran Ken Lovefree has been carrying a gun since the 1960s. He’s been a certified firearms instructor for eight years.
“Guns do stop violence,” he said. “No one will go into a crowd if they know there are armed people there.”
Lalumiere was in law enforcement for 26 years. He spoke about the need to respect people and weapons, the need for training.
“You have to look at all the people carrying legal weapons,” he said. “We respect these weapons and know what they can do. That’s the big difference between a law abiding person and someone who carries illegally. I believe that.”
Denise Coffey can be reached at dcoffey@courant.com.
