Sen. Gordon Reacts to Enactment of Sweeping CT Gun Control Legislation

June 6, 2023

Sen. Gordon Reacts to Enactment of Sweeping CT Gun Control Legislation - CT Senate Republic

State Sen. Jeff Gordon today issued a statement on Gov. Ned Lamont’s enactment of sweeping gun control legislation. The 99-page gun-control legislative package (H.B. 6667) gained the legislature’s approval last week, with Senator Gordon in opposition. While the bill’s stated intent is to “address gun violence,” he outlined how it will fail to mitigate violent gun crimes across Connecticut and infringe on the rights of law-abiding citizens.

 

Senator Gordon said, “The first thing I looked at is the intent of the bill. Its title speaks to addressing ‘gun violence.’ This is a worthy goal, and we can all agree that we can do more to make Connecticut a safer place for everyone.

 

“The next thing I looked at is what the legislation does. Will it work? Would it achieve its goal? I have read the bill many times. I have carefully listened to many people, including law enforcement experts in our communities. A person commits a crime, often a violent crime, using a gun. The problem is not the law-abiding citizens who legally and responsibly own guns. The problem is criminals who do not care about the law and who illegally possess and use guns.

 

“There are some good and bad parts of the bill and I am concerned that there are some parts that would be ruled as unconstitutional. I have worked with my colleagues with bipartisan intent to try to make the bill better to strengthen background checks; get more illegal guns off our streets; restore proven law enforcement techniques to combat crime; hold criminals accountable for their crimes; and better protect the kids, teachers, and staff of our schools. However, Majority Democrats voted against each one of these commonsense solutions. These are missed opportunities for the people of our state. Partisan politics is not good public policy.

 

“As a state senator, I work to uphold all our individual rights and freedoms. The U.S. Constitution and the Connecticut state constitution protect our rights, including from being infringed by government. For these reasons, I opposed the bill. My determination to continue working to make the state safer for everyone, while fighting for our rights, remains strong. I look forward to the further work ahead.”