Gabby Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman who was severely wounded in a 2011 shooting, will be in Connecticut Tuesday urging support for one of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s campaign promises.
Giffords will appear with Malloy and Democratic legislative leaders at a 3 p.m. Capitol press conference to promote passage of a bill that would remove firearms in 24 hours from the target of a temporary restraining order.
The public hearing on the bill lasted 16 hours. It would require the target of the temporary restraining order to remove their firearms and ammunition from the home within 24 hours. Currently, the process could take up to two weeks and advocates for domestic violence victims say that’s too long.
But opponents of the legislation say it’s an unnecessary restriction on law-abiding gun owners, while one lawmaker said there’s a law already on the books that would be more effective in getting the guns.
Rep. Arthur O’Neill-R-Southbury, said at last week’s public hearing that a gun seizure law passed after the 1999 Lottery Corp. shooting would allow police to get a warrant and remove the guns immediately from the home.
When he asked victims’ advocates at the public hearing if they knew about the gun seizure law, many said they were unaware it existed. O’Neill believes Malloy’s proposal is less effective than the law already on the books.
The bill Giffords is coming to Connecticut to support is one of a handful of gun-related legislation the General Assembly is debating this year. It comes two years after the General Assembly expanded its assault weapons ban in the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting.
