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Tight gun laws ahead for Connecticut
1 April 2013Last updated at 22:46 ET
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Newtown parents, including Mark Barden, spoke at the state capitol building on Monday to call for a complete ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines
Lawmakers in the US state of Connecticut have agreed to a sweeping set of gun restrictions, including a ban on new high-capacity magazines.
The proposal requires background checks on all gun sales and expands the state's assault weapons ban.
It comes as new federal gun measures appear to have stalled in Congress.
Debate over US gun laws was reignited after a gunman killed 26 people, including 20 children, at a Connecticut primary school in December.
Tighter gun restrictions also passed in New York and Colorado in the wake of the shooting.
On Monday, six relatives of children and a school staff member killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December travelled to the state capitol of Hartford to call for a complete ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines, several of which the gunman used in the attack.
'Comprehensive'
The new proposal, made public after weeks of negotiation by legislative leaders, is expected to go to a vote on Wednesday with the support of both Democrats and Republicans.
Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, a Republican whose district includes Newtown, called the proposal "the most comprehensive package in the country because of its breadth".
It would create a registry of weapons offenders and a state eligibility certificate required to purchase a rifle, shotgun or ammunition.
Such a certificate would be issued after the buyer was fingerprinted, took a firearms training course and passed both a criminal background check and checks to see whether the person had been committed to a psychiatric hospital.
Criminal background checks would now be required of all prospective gun purchasers. Currently, federal law exempts so-called private transactions, which can include online sales and sales at gun shows.
In additional to proposals directly related to guns, Mr McKinney said there was also "a lot here underneath the surface" addressing mental health, school security and other issues.
In a compromise, legislators did not ban existing ammunition magazines of more than 10 rounds. Instead, already purchased high-capacity magazines will have to be registered.
'Mandatory' gun ownership
Some Newtown parents criticised the compromise.
"It doesn't prevent someone from going out of the state to purchase them and then bring them back," said Mark Barden, whose seven-year-old son Daniel was killed in the shooting.
Jake McGuigan, a spokesman for the Newtown-based gun group National Shooting Sports Foundation, also questioned the magazine registry.
"How will they register a magazine?" he told the Associated Press. "It seems a little weird.''
Congress is expected to vote on a raft of gun proposals this month, including increased background checks, but gun rights advocates have pledged to block the measures.
On Monday, Connecticut House Speaker Brendan Sharkey, a Democrat, said the state was showing Washington "the way to get this job done".
Also on Monday, a small Georgia town approved a symbolic measure mandating gun ownership.
City officials in Nelson, a town of 1,300 north of Atlanta, say the law, called the Family Protection Ordinance, makes a statement about gun rights during a national conversation about firearm regulations.
The measure exempts convicted felons, those with physical and mental disabilities, and anyone who objects to gun ownership. There will be no penalty for non-compliance.
Tight gun laws ahead for Connecticut
1 April 2013Last updated at 22:46 ET
Share this page
Newtown parents, including Mark Barden, spoke at the state capitol building on Monday to call for a complete ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines
Lawmakers in the US state of Connecticut have agreed to a sweeping set of gun restrictions, including a ban on new high-capacity magazines.
The proposal requires background checks on all gun sales and expands the state's assault weapons ban.
It comes as new federal gun measures appear to have stalled in Congress.
Debate over US gun laws was reignited after a gunman killed 26 people, including 20 children, at a Connecticut primary school in December.
Tighter gun restrictions also passed in New York and Colorado in the wake of the shooting.
On Monday, six relatives of children and a school staff member killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December travelled to the state capitol of Hartford to call for a complete ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines, several of which the gunman used in the attack.
'Comprehensive'
The new proposal, made public after weeks of negotiation by legislative leaders, is expected to go to a vote on Wednesday with the support of both Democrats and Republicans.
Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, a Republican whose district includes Newtown, called the proposal "the most comprehensive package in the country because of its breadth".
It would create a registry of weapons offenders and a state eligibility certificate required to purchase a rifle, shotgun or ammunition.
Such a certificate would be issued after the buyer was fingerprinted, took a firearms training course and passed both a criminal background check and checks to see whether the person had been committed to a psychiatric hospital.
Criminal background checks would now be required of all prospective gun purchasers. Currently, federal law exempts so-called private transactions, which can include online sales and sales at gun shows.
In additional to proposals directly related to guns, Mr McKinney said there was also "a lot here underneath the surface" addressing mental health, school security and other issues.
In a compromise, legislators did not ban existing ammunition magazines of more than 10 rounds. Instead, already purchased high-capacity magazines will have to be registered.
'Mandatory' gun ownership
Some Newtown parents criticised the compromise.
"It doesn't prevent someone from going out of the state to purchase them and then bring them back," said Mark Barden, whose seven-year-old son Daniel was killed in the shooting.
Jake McGuigan, a spokesman for the Newtown-based gun group National Shooting Sports Foundation, also questioned the magazine registry.
"How will they register a magazine?" he told the Associated Press. "It seems a little weird.''
Congress is expected to vote on a raft of gun proposals this month, including increased background checks, but gun rights advocates have pledged to block the measures.
On Monday, Connecticut House Speaker Brendan Sharkey, a Democrat, said the state was showing Washington "the way to get this job done".
Also on Monday, a small Georgia town approved a symbolic measure mandating gun ownership.
City officials in Nelson, a town of 1,300 north of Atlanta, say the law, called the Family Protection Ordinance, makes a statement about gun rights during a national conversation about firearm regulations.
The measure exempts convicted felons, those with physical and mental disabilities, and anyone who objects to gun ownership. There will be no penalty for non-compliance.
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