What to know about state’s new gun law

The Connecticut Mirror

On June 6, Gov. Ned Lamont signed into law the first comprehensive update of Connecticut’s gun laws since the sweeping reforms enacted a decade ago in response to the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. House Bill 6667, An Act Addressing Gun Violence, was proposed by Lamont and expanded to include measures sought by urban mayors

What changes does the law make to Connecticut’s gun policies? Here’s what to know.

Bill updates several aspects of state’s existing gun laws

H.B. 6667 bans the open carry of firearms and strengthens rules for gun storage and reporting stolen firearms. It also expands a ban on AR15s and other so-called assault weapons passed in

1993 and updated in 2013. AR-15s purchased prior to the bans still can be legally owned, if registered with the police. But the new law closed what proponents called a loophole that allowed the legal sale of nowbanned weapons if manufactured prior to 1994.

The legislation also further tightens restrictions on military-style weapons and highcapacity magazines that were largely banned after the Sandy Hook school shooting.

Additionally, the bill regulates the sale of body armor to civilians, generally limits the sale of handguns to three in any one month, increases training requirements for gun permit holders, and raises the minimum age to purchase a semiautomatic rifle from 18 to 21, the same threshold as handguns.

The bill also bans the online sale of kits used to assemble “ghost guns,” firearms that have no serial number and are largely untraceable.

Was largely approved along party lines

House Bill 6667 cleared the House on a vote of 96-51, with seven Republicans in favor and five Democrats opposed. In the Senate, Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, joined 23 Democrats in favor. One Democrat, Sen. Cathy Osten of Sprague, did not vote.

Democratic mayors urged provisions

The measure incorporates elements of a tougher approach to gun crimes urged by the Democratic mayors of Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven and Waterbury, where 80% of all shootings occur in Connecticut.

At the mayors’ request, the bill would target what they described as a relatively small cohort of repeat gun offenders with dedicated court dockets, higher thresholds for bail and probation,