- Fri May 15, 2009 4:09 pm
#5131
House Backs Limit On Machine Guns
By CHRISTOPHER KEATING | The Hartford Courant May 15, 2009
Prompted by the death of an 8-year-old Connecticut boy at a Massachusetts gun club, the state House of Representatives voted unanimously Thursday night to keep machine guns out of the hands of anyone under the age of 16.
The House action came after the state Senate recently voted 31-2 in favor of the bill, with two Republicans voting against it.
The bill, which prohibits the transfer of machine guns to children, is in response to the death of Christopher K. Bizilj, an Ashford boy who lost control of a Micro Uzi submachine gun in late October in Massachusetts and accidentally shot himself in the head.
The third-grader, who was 4 feet 3 and weighed 66 pounds, could not control the high-powered weapon's recoil. A Massachusetts grand jury has indicted a police chief, the gun club and two Connecticut men in connection with the accident at the machine gun event in Westfield.
Rep. Michael P. Lawlor of East Haven, the co-chairman of the legislature's judiciary committee, and Rep. Arthur O'Neill of Southbury, the committee's ranking Republican member, both described the measure as a compromise among gun advocates and those seeking gun control.
"Handing a machine gun to an 8-year-old is a pretty irresponsible thing to do," O'Neill said on the House floor. "There is widespread agreement that this is a reasonable piece of legislation. ... These are very dangerous weapons."
The bill now goes to Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell for her signature.
By CHRISTOPHER KEATING | The Hartford Courant May 15, 2009
Prompted by the death of an 8-year-old Connecticut boy at a Massachusetts gun club, the state House of Representatives voted unanimously Thursday night to keep machine guns out of the hands of anyone under the age of 16.
The House action came after the state Senate recently voted 31-2 in favor of the bill, with two Republicans voting against it.
The bill, which prohibits the transfer of machine guns to children, is in response to the death of Christopher K. Bizilj, an Ashford boy who lost control of a Micro Uzi submachine gun in late October in Massachusetts and accidentally shot himself in the head.
The third-grader, who was 4 feet 3 and weighed 66 pounds, could not control the high-powered weapon's recoil. A Massachusetts grand jury has indicted a police chief, the gun club and two Connecticut men in connection with the accident at the machine gun event in Westfield.
Rep. Michael P. Lawlor of East Haven, the co-chairman of the legislature's judiciary committee, and Rep. Arthur O'Neill of Southbury, the committee's ranking Republican member, both described the measure as a compromise among gun advocates and those seeking gun control.
"Handing a machine gun to an 8-year-old is a pretty irresponsible thing to do," O'Neill said on the House floor. "There is widespread agreement that this is a reasonable piece of legislation. ... These are very dangerous weapons."
The bill now goes to Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell for her signature.
NRA Certified Instructor - Si vis pacem, para bellum - [email protected]
- By SR9