Connecticut Preparedness

[Rich_B]

AN ACT CONCERNING LOOK-A-LIKE FIREARMS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2012) (a) As used in this section, "look-a-like firearm" means any imitation firearm, simulated firearm, replica of a firearm or other device which substantially duplicates or is so similar in coloration and overall appearance to an existing firearm as to lead a reasonable person to perceive that the device is a firearm.

(b) No person shall alter, change, deface, remove, paint, emboss or in any other manner obliterate any coloration or markings that are required by any applicable state or federal law or regulation for any look-a-like firearm, in a manner that makes the look-a-like firearm look more like a firearm. Any person who violates any provision of this subsection shall have committed an infraction. This subsection shall not apply to the use of look-a-like firearms in theatrical productions including, but not limited to, motion pictures and television and stage productions.

(c) No person shall possess any look-a-like firearm, paintball gun, pellet-firing air gun or BB. gun in or on, or within one thousand five hundred feet of, the real property comprising a public or private elementary or secondary school. Any person who violates any provision of this subsection shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than three months or both.

(d) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any look-a-like firearm, paintball gun, pellet-firing air gun or BB. gun used by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, police departments, the Department of Correction or the military or naval forces of this state or of the United States in the discharge of their official duties.


Statement of Purpose:

To make it an infraction for any person to deface the markings on any look-a-like firearm and to ban the possession of look-a-like firearms, paintball guns, pellet-firing air guns, and BB. guns within one thousand five hundred feet of, the real property comprising a public or private elementary or secondary school.

This is a ridiculous overreach of our state legislature to ban air guns and replicas from private homes and properties all over Connecticut. 1500 feet is a huge radius around the 'real property' of a public school. It exceeds even the Federal law on carrying real firearms without a permit around schools.

This needs to be fought aggressively.

There is public hearing on March 1st, 2012.

Here is how to testify:
http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/content/yourvoice.asp

We should all also be writing our legislators to tell them how distasteful and restrictive this is.

Everyone needs to get testimony submitted on this. Everyone needs to contact their representatives.
This is a huge overreach and needs to receive the scrutiny and outcry it is demanding.

Public hearing information:

*SELECT COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN
THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012
The Select Committee on Children will hold a public hearing on Thursday, March 1, 2012 at 2:30 P.M. in Room 1E of the LOB. Please submit 25 copies of written testimony to Committee staff at the time of sign up. Testimony submitted after sign-up may not be distributed until after the hearing. Sign-up for the hearing will begin at 1:30 P.M. in First Floor Atrium of the LOB. The first hour of the hearing is reserved for Legislators, Constitutional Officers, State Agency Heads and Chief Elected Municipal Officials. Speakers will be limited to three minutes of testimony. Unofficial sign-up sheets have no standing with the Committee.
SUBJECT MATTER: Child Related Bills
*S.B. No. 194 (RAISED) AN ACT CONCERNING THE POSTPONEMENT OF JURY DUTY FOR BREASTFEEDING MOTHERS.
*H.B. No. 5184 (RAISED) AN ACT CONCERNING DISSECTION CHOICE.
*H.B. No. 5218 (RAISED) AN ACT CONCERNING TOXIC FIRE RETARDANTS IN CHILDREN'S PRODUCTS.
*H.B. No. 5219 (RAISED) AN ACT CONCERNING THE INCLUSION OF YOUNG ADULTS IN THE ANNUAL REPORT CARD ON POLICIES AND PROGRAMS AFFECTING CHILDREN.
*H.B. No. 5220 (RAISED) AN ACT CONCERNING LOOK-A-LIKE FIREARMS.

[3319]

These folks up in Hartford get 'more stupider' every day.
It's illegal to make a gun, that is supposed to look like a real gun, even more like a real gun. What the...?
And then the whole 'can't have a pellet/paint/bb/fake gun near a school'. Well what about people that already have those types of guns that live within the prohibited area? Do they now have to move or get some sort of permit?

I'm just wondering when, due to what happened last night, a bill will be put in restricting firearms on hospital property.

[Rich_B]

HB 5220 is out of committee, the committee voted unanimously in favor of it while adding an amendment that made it into an infraction.

Get information about this and other relevant bills here:
http://ctcarry.com/Legislative/Session

Connecticut Carry's response to this vote is here:
http://ctcarry.com/Document/Details/f66 ... 5f30cdde5f

Please contact the members of the Select Committee on Children and express your disappointment in their decision.

The membership of the committee can be found here:
http://cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/MemberList.asp?comm_code=KID

[Rich_B]

Partial good news, they have amended and restated the bill to remove the 1500" junk. This bill is now just a poorly thought out version of 53-206c. Now they should scrap it just on that front.

[Rich_B]

This is why it is important to write testimony: http://cga.ct.gov/2012/JFR/H/2012HB-052 ... ID-JFR.htm

The bill has no support, only opposition. The bill still exists, but has had the 1500' clause removed. Hopefully we can still rally enough people to contact the KID committee and get the rest of this ridiculous bill shot down.

Contact:
http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/MemberLi ... m_code=KID

These are the email addresses of the people I have been in contact with on the committee:

"Anthony Musto" <musto>
"Diana Urban" <Diana>
"John Thompson" <Jack>
"Juan Candelaria" <Juan>
"Kim Fawcett" <Kim>
"Kim Rose" <Kim>
"Len Suzio" <Len>
"Mary Mushinsky" <Mary>
"Rosa Rebimbas Esq." <Rosa>
"Terrie Wood" <Terrie>
"Terry Gerratana" <gerratana>
"Whit Betts" <whit>

Email the committee and let them know your thoughts. They still say things like "This will only effect people on school property", which is false. It bans toys without orange tips across the state and allows for the criminalization and possible RAS of any gun an officer sees that they believe might be 'fake'. This is in addition to the redundancy of this bill and CGS 53-206c (http://www.cga.ct.gov/2011/pub/chap943. ... 3-206c.htm).

There is no good to come out of this bill. It is a silly and reactive bill that goes too far to try and solve a problem we don't have.

Let the committee know how many people do not support these kinds of bills, because there is no one willing to go on record so far supporting this one.

I should add:

This bill looks like it is now headed to the Public Safety and Security committee:

http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/MemberLi ... mm_code=PS

All correspondence should also be sent to those reps.

Both committees will have committee meetings tomorrow (March 13th). It is important that they all know what everyone thinks of their bills.

[Drew]

Forgive my ignorance but is there an example of what someone should write to sound credible? thanks

[Rich_B]

Forgive my ignorance but is there an example of what someone should write to sound credible? thanks

Written testimony and correspondence is linked here:
http://ctcarry.com/Legislative/Session