HARTFORD, Conn. — One day after the one-year anniversary of the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Connecticut legislators passed the state’s most comprehensive gun-control package since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings more than a decade ago.
After a debate that lasted 3 1/2 hours, the state House of Representatives voted 96-51 on a bipartisan basis as seven Republicans joined with Democrats to pass the measure, which now heads to the Democratic-controlled state Senate.
Pushed by Gov. Ned Lamont and Democratic legislators, the controversial measure would ban the “open carry” of guns in public, limit purchases of handguns to three per month per person, increase penalties for failing to report that a gun was stolen, and update pistol permit training requirements. The 93-page bill also expands safe storage requirements and mandates state police to adopt a mass shooting response plan that includes the use of counselors regarding the psychological impacts.
