Gov. Dannel P. Malloy told Vice President Joe Biden that Connecticut may have some of the strongest gun control laws in the country, but “our laws are not enough; gun control must be addressed nationally.”
“As long as weapons continue to travel up and down I-95, what is legally available for sale in Florida or Virginia can have devastating consequences here in Connecticut,” Malloy wrote to Biden in the wake of the Newtown shooting.
Malloy suggested that the federal government begin to address the problem by reinstating and strengthening the federal assault weapons ban and the ban on high capacity magazine clips.
“Any definition of ‘assault weapon’ should eliminate the possibility of manufacturers bypassing the ban with minor modifications. You don’t need an assault weapon or a 30-round clip to go hunting, and you don’t need an assault weapon or a 30-round clip to honor the Constitution of the United States,” Malloy wrote to Biden on Friday.
“The Congress should require a background check for all firearm purchases, federal firearm licenses, gun show or other private transactions or transfers. In Connecticut, any handgun purchaser must obtain a permit, revocable under certain circumstances, that requires a background check and completion of a firearm safety course given by accredited trainers.”
Biden is leading a federal task force on violence prevention and is expected to make his recommendations to President Barack Obama on Tuesday.
On Sunday, NRA President David Keene told CNN’s “State of the Union” that he doesn’t believe it’s likely that Congress will pass an assault weapons ban.
“You don’t want to bet your house on the outcome. But I would say that the likelihood is that they are not going to be able to get an assault weapons ban through this Congress,” Keene said.
The gunman who claimed the lives of 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School shot his mother before heading to the school Dec. 14 where he used a .223 caliber semiautomatic rifle, according to police. The gunman, who shot his way into the locked school, killed himself before police arrived.
In the wake of the shooting, the NRA has called for armed guards at schools. Some have taken the idea further, suggesting arming teachers in schools.
In his letter, Malloy repeated a line he used in his State of the State address last week, telling Biden he disagrees with gun advocates who believe more guns will prevent these types of mass shootings in the future.
“Freedom is not a handgun on the hip of every teacher, and security should not mean an armed guard posted outside every classroom,” Malloy wrote.
