Gov. Dannel P. Malloy Law Tribune File Photo
A coalition of groups and individuals have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of sweeping gun control and firearms safety measures recently approved by the Connecticut legislature.
The Connecticut Citizens Defense League (CCDL) and Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen are taking specific aim at new laws that would limit the size of ammunizition magazines and add 100 firearms to the listed of banned assault weapons in the state. They say many of the design features now prohibited on weapons sold in Connecticut enhance safey, accuracy and ease of use, and have long been standard in firearms design.
"We're attacking the broadness of the definition of assault weapons, and the ban on magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, because this new law eviscerates the core right to defend yourself in your home," said the plaintiffs' attorney, Brian T. Stapleton, a partner in the Goldberg Segalla office in White Plains, N.Y. "It amounts to a ban on what are now commonly possessed weapons and standard magazines."
Stapleton is also the lead trial counsel for a similar challenge to a New York assault weapon law. The plaintiffs note there are additional challenges in Colorado and Maryland, and the results of all four lawsuits will help shape firearms law nationwide. "I've been working with gun rights groups at a national level for many years," Stapleton said.
In a prepared statement, CCDL President Scott Wilson said he wished to thank the National Rifle Association, "whose vision and stalwart defense of citizens' fundamental rights has helped make this important legal challenge possible." Wilson said his organization's membership has tripled, to about 7,500, in just a few months' time.
According to a news release issued by the Second Amendment groups, other plaintiffs include an elderly widow who lives alone in a rural area where the emergency response time of a resident state trooper is 45 minutes; a rabbi whose Bridgeport area synagogue has been broken into by intruders; and a young professional woman whose efforts to defend herself are made more difficult by the loss of an arm due to cancer. Also joining the lawsuit are several retailers whose businesses are affected by the gun control measures.
The gun measures were approved by the Connecticut legislature in the wake of last December's shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown that left 26 students and faculty members dead. The plaintiffs say state officials overreacted to a tragedy caused by one mentally disturbed person.
"This law will do nothing to prevent a tragedy or solve the problem of crime committed with guns," Bob Crook, executive director of the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen, said in a prepared statement. "Instead of violating constitutional rights, we need to get serious about addressing violence and mental illness."
The lawsuit names as defendants Governor Dannel Malloy, Chief State's Attorney Kevin Kane and Reuben Bradford, the commissioner of the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. Additionally, it names the state's attorneys in each of Connecticut's judicial districts.
The state Attorney General's Office defends all actions brought against the state. "Our office will review this complaint and respond in court," the AG's Office said in a prepared statement. "However, it is our belief that this legislation is lawful, and the Office of the Attorney General is prepared to vigorously defend the law against this and any other potential court challenge."
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