Connecticut's new gun control law challenged in court
By Mary E. O'Learymoleary@nhregister.com / Twitter: @nhrmoleary
BRIDGEPORT — A constitutional challenge to the state's new tough gun control law has been filed in U.S. District Court.
The Connecticut Citizens Defense League thanked the National Rifle Association for making the expected legal challenge possible.
The suit seeks immediate injunctive relief and a ruling declaring the new law unconstitutional under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
It charges that the law makes citizens and law enforcement less safe because it deprives them of using weapons with certain design features that they say enhance safety and accuracy.
The new law added more than 100 firearms to the list of banned assault weapons in Connecticut, as well as banning magazines with more than 10 bullets. The suit says the law's language is vague and difficult to interpret.
The suit features an elderly woman who lives in a rural area served by a resident trooper; a rabbi in Bridgeport whose synagogue has been broken into and a handicapped woman who has lost an arm.
The suit is supported by both the Connecticut Citizens Defense League and the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen, who say their members' choices of firearms have been harmed by the new law.
Retailers whose businesses have been hurt are also represented
CCDL President Scott Wilson, in a statement forwarded to the media said:
"On behalf of our members and all of the plaintiffs, we wish to thank the National Rifle Association, whose vision and stalwart defense of citizens' fundamental rights has helped make this important legal challenge possible." Wilson says, "Connecticut's new gun ban violates Second Amendment rights by depriving law-abiding citizens of firearms that are in common use throughout the country precisely because of their known effectiveness in the protection of citizens, their families, and homes. Criminals and the mentally ill will not abide by this terrible law, which means it has the perverse effect of actually making citizens and law enforcement officers less safe." Continued...
Bob Crook, the executive director of the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen, said:
"This law will do nothing to prevent a tragedy or solve the problem of crime committed with guns. Instead of violating constitutional rights, we need to get serious about addressing violence and mental illness."
The new law was adopted in the wake of the massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown on Dec. where 20 children and six educators died. Adam Lanza killed them with an AR-15 semiautomatic in less than 5 minutes.
The slayings started a national discussion about gun control that recently failed to advance in the U.S. Senate.
Connecticut also adopted new legislation to enhance mental health access and programs to help with early identification of mental health issues.
Connecticut's new gun control law challenged in court
http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2013/05/22/news/doc519d09e2c55c7061716796.txt
John Hames
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