US appeals court upholds Connecticut gun laws passed after Newtown school shooting Assault rifle ban passed after Sandy Hook

NEW YORK >> The purchase and sale of certain semiautomatic weapons will continue to be prohibited in Connecticut and New York after a ruling from the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Monday upheld gun regulation laws passed in 2013.

“We hold that the core provisions of the New York and Connecticut laws prohibiting possession of semiautomatic assault weapons and large capacity magazines do not violate the Second Amendment, and that the challenged individual provisions are not void for vagueness,” the court wrote, according to the opinion released Monday.

The ruling also stated, “Because the prohibitions are substantially related to the important governmental interests of public safety and crime reduction, they pass constitutional muster.”

However, the federal appeals court ruled that Connecticut could not prohibit the sale and possession of non-semiautomatic Remington 7615 and that New York laws could not address load limits of weapons.

“Connecticut has struck the right constitutional balance between access to firearms and public safety,” Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said in a statement Monday. “Today’s decision acknowledges our state government’s obligation to take every sensible step toward reducing gun violence. One thing remains clear: Connecticut would be better off if every state and the federal government enacted similar, sensible gun safety rules. Connecticut has the smartest, toughest, most common sense gun safety laws in the nation — approved with broad, bipartisan support — and the court’s ruling validates it.”

The stricter gun regulations in Connecticut and New York were passed in 2013 following the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown in which 20 children and six educators were killed.

“Since Connecticut’s legislation was passed and this lawsuit was filed, my office has argued that the gun control legislation passed in response to the tragedy in Sandy Hook was entirely appropriate, sensible and lawful. Today, the Second Circuit has upheld the District Court’s ruling, and I appreciate the court’s well-thought decision, which upholds the prohibition of semiautomatic assault weapons and large‐capacity magazines,” state Attorney General George Jepsen said in a release Monday.

“This decision is deeply gratifying, particularly in light of the terrible events that gave rise to the laws challenged in this case. At a time when many Americans have abandoned hope of government’s ability to address gun violence in our schools and on our streets, Connecticut’s laws — and today’s decision — demonstrate that willing states can enact meaningful reform to improve public safety without violating the Second Amendment,” Jepsen added.

The Connecticut law, initially adopted in April 2013, states that no person, firm or corporation can purchase or sell certain semiautomatic and large-capacity magazines without express permission from the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection. Individuals that owned any firearms now on the list of prohibited weapons prior to adoption of the law could continue to possess their firearms, if properly registered.

The ruling noted, “Large‐capacity magazines are disproportionately used in mass shootings, like the one in Newtown, in which the shooter used multiple large‐capacity magazines to fire 154 rounds in less than five minutes. Like assault weapons, large‐capacity magazines result in ‘more shots fired, persons wounded, and wounds per victim than do other gun attacks.’”

“We therefore conclude that New York and Connecticut have adequately established a substantial relationship between the prohibition of both semiautomatic assault weapons and large capacity magazines and the important — indeed, compelling — state interest in controlling crime. These prohibitions survive intermediate scrutiny,” the appeals court ruling said.

Several groups filed an appeal of the laws after they were passed, on the grounds that they were in violation of the Second Amendment in the case to become known as Shew v. Malloy. The New York appeal was filed in March 2013 and Connecticut appeal came in May 2013.

The Connecticut Citizen’s Defense League one of the named plaintiffs in the lawsuit, released a statement Monday saying the group would be looking to take the case to the Supreme Court within the next three months.

“We know that we are on the right side of this matter, and Connecticut gun owners will not surrender our constitutional rights. We will exhaust every possible avenue to preserve those rights,” said CCDL President Scott Wilson. “We, along with our fellow plaintiffs, were hopeful for a more favorable decision from the 2nd Circuit, but we are not surprised that this decision was handed down from this level. We are working with our team of attorneys and other plaintiffs and preparing for the next round.”

The CCDL was founded in 2009 with the stated goal of protecting Second Amendment rights.

Other plaintiffs in the case against Malloy include The Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen; June Shew; Rabbi Mitchell Rocklin; Stephanie Cypher; Peter Owens; Brian mcClain; Andrew Mueller; Hiller Sports; and MD Shooting Sports.

Plaintiffs have 90 days to file an appeal with the Supreme Court.