State lawmakers set to unveil gun-control legislation

HARTFORD -- Lawmakers and gun-control advocates anticipate the strongest laws in the nation to emerge Monday, when leaders of the General Assembly finally unveil their bipartisan response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

After closed-door House and Senate caucuses review the secret list of gun-control, school-safety and mental-health legislation, top Democratic and Republican leaders will meet a final time, then announce what they will debate and vote on later in the week.

"We're hoping we can reach a conclusion," said Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, whose district includes Newtown. "We should have a comprehensive package that will be more encompassing than we've seen anywhere else."

"A lot of that depends on our respective caucuses," said House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk. "The goal was to set an example on how Democrats and Republicans could work together and the goal was always comprehensive. That's not to say exhaustive. In the future, we'll still be looking at ways to improve on issues of mental health and school safety."

Senate President Pro Tempore Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn agreed that it could be the most comprehensive bill in the country.

"I'm looking forward to our caucus Monday," Williams said Friday. "It's been a lengthy negotiation, but fruitful. We've discussed every issue."

The House and Senate debates are scheduled for Wednesday.

At the start of the legislative session, leaders appointed a 52-member committee of lawmakers, with three subcommittees studying guns, school safety and mental health. Earlier this month, the subcommittees presented recommendations to House and Senate leaders for final bipartisan negotiations.

Democrats have 99-52 and 22-14 majorities in the House and Senate, respectively, but leaders agreed at the start of their private negotiations on March 6 that a bipartisan agreement would carry more weight.

"I think a lot of our discussions, especially on mental health, are leading us to future discussions down the road," McKinney said. "But this will be a comprehensive package that will be more encompassing that we've seen anywhere else. I hope we have bipartisan support to hopefully send a message to Washington that people can come together and make progress on these issues."

"If we do a good thing, people will take note," Cafero said. "Leading by example was not the goal. We want an effective, comprehensive piece of legislation."

A widening of the state's 1993 ban on assault weapons to include semi-automatic, military style rifles is expected in the final bill, along with a requirement that all gun sales, including rifle purchases and private transactions, must include criminal background checks.

Whether a ban on ammunition magazines over 10 rounds would allow those currently owning them to retain them was still being discussed last week.

Gun-control advocates stress that prohibiting the larger magazines is key to reducing incidents such as the Sandy Hook shootings.

There, Adam Lanza was able to fire about half of the 300 rounds of .223 caliber ammunition for his Bushmaster XM15 rifle that he brought in 10, 30-round magazines. He killed 20 first-graders and six adults before committing suicide with a handgun.

Ron Pinciaro, executive director of the Fairfield-based Connecticut Against Gun Violence, said Friday that Congress needs states such as Connecticut to be "the laboratories for change" that could lead to better national gun-control measures.

"A lot will depend on what happens in those caucuses," he said in a phone interview. "I think they're going to cover all the bases on the main proposals. The sticking point now is the `grandfathering' of those large magazines."

Pinciaro said if the General Assembly prohibits ownership of large magazines, there are "very clear" constitutional grounds for public safety. Some gun enthusiasts call such a measure a violation of their constitutional right to property.

Gun-control advocates and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who introduced his own proposals Feb. 21 in response to the Newtown shootings, say large magazines can be mechanically altered to accept fewer bullets, or they can be sold to people in other states.

Pinciaro noted that the evidence released by state prosecutors last week shows that Lanza left his smaller magazines at home, bringing the 30-round magazines for the Bushmaster, plus a Saiga 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun with two magazines containing 70 rounds of ammunition he left in his vehicle outside the school.

Pinciaro believes the bill will also include tougher safe-storage requirements for gun owners and a limit on the number of guns someone can buy each month.

Pinciaro, while agreeing with lawmakers that Connecticut may end up with the toughest gun-control laws in the nation, said it will likely fall short of what he and others want.

CAGV has proposed the registration of all handguns, with annual renewals under the stipulation that they remain in the possession of legal owners. Currently, permits are needed only to carry handguns and are renewed every five years.

"Most urban violence is carried out by those prohibited from using guns and the (federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) has reported that 60 percent of the guns involved in crimes in Connecticut were purchased in Connecticut," Pinciaro said. "There are things we'll want to go back to in future legislative sessions."

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