More than 51,000 assault rifles registered in state

Bridgeport Police Sgt. Luigi Tucciarone, left, and Officer Pete Garcia log weapons brought in during Bridgeport's Gun Buyback initiative Saturday, July 18, 2015, at the Police Department Community Services Division at 1395 Sylvan Ave. The Bridgeport Police Department offered up to $200 for a working handgun, up to $100 for a rifle and a weapon determined to be an assault rifle was eligible for up to $400. less Bridgeport Police Sgt. Luigi Tucciarone, left, and Officer Pete Garcia log weapons brought in during Bridgeport's Gun Buyback initiative Saturday, July 18, 2015, at the Police Department Community Services ... more Photo: Autumn Driscoll / Hearst Connecticut Media Buy photo Photo: Autumn Driscoll / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 11 Caption Close More than 51,000 assault rifles registered in state 1 / 11 Back to Gallery

Someone in Connecticut owns 179 assault rifles, but if he’s your neighbor, you may never know.

Another state resident has 175 of the semi-automatic rifles that can fire 30 rounds in 15 seconds, like the gun Adam Lanza used to kill 20 first graders and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

A third firearms enthusiast keeps nearly 544,000 high-capacity magazines.

In fact, according to a Hearst Connecticut Media investigation into registration records, there were 51,763 assault weapons in private hands statewide at the end of August — enough to equip an army. In addition, 40,491 residents filed paperwork showing they owned ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 bullets.

While the 2013 state law enacted after the Newtown shootings created a database of legal assault rifle ownership, a law on the books since 1995 prohibits the disclosure of the names and addresses of registered gun owners, a privacy protection that some say could put the public at risk.

“I think a significant segment of the population would like to know who these people are,” said Ron Pinciaro, president of the Connecticut Coalition Against Gun Violence. “Does one live in my neighborhood? It’s important that we know this, but so far the Second Amendment people object to that, so that information is prohibited.”

Scott Wilson, president of the Connecticut Citizens Defense League, said protecting gun owners’ identities is a safety measure. That was the logic behind the 1995 handgun permit and background check law that exempts the names and addresses of gun and ammo owners from the Freedom of Information law.

“There is no public good in releasing the names of lawful gun owners,” Wilson said. “It’ll just become a shopping list for criminals. In my view, it would be an extreme invasion of privacy toward those who want to keep their ownership private.”

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said the anonymous aspects of ownership for the public records was a compromise.

“I think as people read about this, people are going to ask that question,” he said.

Malloy, a former criminal prosecutor who spent days on the scene in Newtown after the shootings and advocated for even tougher registration requirements than the ones approved, said last week that registry offers state officials a good snapshot of the number of weapons out there.

“It gives us an idea of who has what, of the kinds of lethal weapons no longer sold in the state,” Malloy said.

Public safety tool

State Police began to compile gun and magazine data after the requirement went into effect on January 1, 2014, 13 months after the Sandy Hook shootings.

"The state’s registry makes it possible for Connecticut's comprehensive gun law to protect the public,” said Dora B. Schriro, commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, which oversees the database. “To save lives, respond to safety threats, and bring down crime even further, it's critical to have reliable information at the ready about firearms and ammunition bought, sold, and domiciled here.”

Pinciaro said the database provides a graphic depiction of the universe of rifles such as the AR-15 and the Bushmaster XM-15.

“I think the public should certainly be aware of the numbers in an absolute sense,” Pinciaro said. “Someone has to keep a good record to keep track of them. These are dangerous weapons in the hands of civilians. I’m surprised at the number because you’re talking about the power and brutality of these weapons, knowing about Sandy Hook.”

Bob Crook, executive director of the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen, a gun rights advocacy group, said he believes as large as the number of registered military-style weapons may appear, they’re most likely under-reported.

“They may be about 10 percent of the weapons out there,” Crook said. He believes high-profile professionals, such as lawyers, may have felt compelled to register, while others did not. The registration process has been an intrusion into the rights of guns owners, he said, some of whom took weeks to catalog their collections to comply with the post-Sandy Hook law.

“We have some major collectors in this state,” Crook said. “A lot of them invest in guns because for the most part they’re a better investment than the stock market. A few years ago, we had more machine-gun owners per capita than any other state.”

Crook would like to get rid of any type of registration, but knows that would be nearly impossible politically.

“Registration isn’t controlling the criminals,” he said. “There’s no real data showing that rifles are being used in crime since the early 1970s.”

Wilson said the registry’s benefit for police is “arguable.”

“It’s as if they are on some kind of watch list for having something that’s legal,” he said.

Landmark legislation

In addition to requiring registration of grandfathered-in assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, the 2013 law prohibits their sale, and makes it illegal to bring the weaponry in from out of state.

Under the law, all gun sales, even shotguns and hunting rifles, require purchasers to hold certificates from the State Police. Owners of the registered assault rifles may transport them, unloaded, to shooting ranges and may use their large magazines. But the magazines may not hold more than 10 bullets at any one time.

Failure to register an military-style weapon is a felony. It can be reduced to a misdemeanor if an owner can prove it was bought before the spring 2013 vote in the General Assembly, but even then, gun-ownership rights can be terminated because of the failure to register.

Michael P. Lawlor, a former state lawmaker who is under secretary for justice policy in Malloy’s budget office, said registration laws work. The 1995 permit and background-check law has led to fewer guns in the hands of mentally ill or criminally inclined, reckless people, he said. There are 219,215 state residents with pistol permits, according to the registry.

Lawlor called the post-Sandy Hook registry of military-style weapons a “public health solution,” because police will have information about gun owners during cases of confrontation.

“If they’re going somewhere where they know someone has 179 assault weapons, they’ll probably behave differently,” Lawlor said. “These owners are all law-abiding until they pull the trigger.”

kdixon@ctpost.com