Open-carry bill shot down

Ron Pinciaro, executive director of CT Against Gun Violence, says that urban Democrats combined with Republicans in favor of gun rights, to kill legislation that would hve required those who openly carry handguns to show their permits when asked by police. less Ron Pinciaro, executive director of CT Against Gun Violence, says that urban Democrats combined with Republicans in favor of gun rights, to kill legislation that would hve required those who openly carry ... more Photo: BK Angeletti / B.K. Angeletti Photo: BK Angeletti / B.K. Angeletti Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Open-carry bill shot down 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

HARTFORD — Legislation that would have required those who openly carry handguns to show their permits when asked by police has died in the Judiciary Committee.

Lawmakers said there was not enough support for the bill, which was provoked by a January 2016 incident in a downtown Bridgeport Subway restaurant, during which a Waterbury man declined to show police his permit, correctly citing that state law was on his side.

With the failure of this proposal, the last time the General Assembly approved major gun-safety legislation was in 2013, banning sales of military-style rifles and large-capacity ammunition magazines in the months after the Newtown school shootings that killed 20 first-graders and six adults.

Rep. Steve Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, vice chairman of the Judiciary Committee and a chief proponent of the bill over the last two years, said that while he believed several Republicans on the panel would have supported the bill, it wasn’t enough. During a recent committee hearing, several big-city Democrats on the panel voiced concerns that police could use a new law as a racial profiling tool.

“We heard the concerns during the committee process,” Stafstrom said in a phone interview Friday morning. “We’ll certainly seek to revisit the issue next year.”

He said forcing the issue to a debate on Friday could have resulted in a virtual gridlock of committee business on its 26-item agenda.

“It was going to be close, and the committee has other priorities,” Stafstrom said.

Ron Pinciaro, president of CT Against Gun Violence, said it seems unlikely the bill would be revived in any other form this legislative session, which ends on June 7.

“The bill was opposed by gun-rights activists, as expected, but it was also opposed by some legislators from urban districts that unfortunately have a long history of racial profiling and inequalities,” Pinciaro said. “They were afraid this bill would be another reason to stop young men of color. We tried to find a way to address their concerns but were unable to reach such a compromise.”

During the recent public hearing, gun-safety advocates including Po Murray, chairwoman of the Newtown Action Alliance, told the lawmakers that her town is still suffering trauma from the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre and that many residents believe open-carry is a threatening act.

Pinciaro said that part of the trade-off in the legislative process would have been a so-called reciprocity agreement that would have allowed non-residents of Conneticut to carry concealed firearms in Connecticut.

Scott Wilson, president of the Connecticut Citizens Defense League, a 27,000-member gun-rights group, said members succeeded in preventing the bill from reaching a committee vote.

“This bill was not only an unnecessary intrusion, it was advertised as something that is it was not,” Wilson said in a statemnt. “The usual gun-control proponents have for two years now failed to convince two different committees that there really is a need for what they’ve sought. We really appreciate the hard work of our members to help stop this bill. We could not have done this without the time and effort that they have dedicated. Hopefully as time passes, our legislators will understand more about the issues that plague society, and start addressing the root causes of violence with real solutions.”