Conn. likely to approve broad gun-control law

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Connecticut lawmakers were expected to approve sweeping new restrictions on weapons and large-capacity magazines Wednesday, a response to the Newtown school shooting that will give the state some of the country's tightest gun-control laws.

The legislation adds more than 100 firearms to the state's assault weapons ban and creates what officials have called the nation's first dangerous weapon offender registry, as well as eligibility rules for buying ammunition.

Some parts of the bill will take effect immediately, including background checks for all firearms sales.

The December massacre of 26 people inside Sandy Hook Elementary Schoo set the stage for changes here that may have been impossible elsewhere.

The governor, who personally informed parents that their children had been killed that day, championed the cause, and legislative leaders, keenly aware of the attention on the state, struck a bipartisan agreement they want to serve as a national model.

"The tragedy in Newtown demands a powerful response, demands a response that transcends politics," said Senate President Donald E. Williams Jr., a Democrat. "It is the strongest and most comprehensive bill in the country."

Connecticut will join states including California, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts in having the country's strongest gun-control laws, said Brian Malte, director of mobilization for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence in Washington.

"This would put Connecticut right at the top or near the top of the state with the strongest gun laws," Malte said.

Gun rights advocates fill the hallways of the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, April 3, 2013. Hundreds of gun rights advocates are gathering at the statehouse in Hartford ahead of a vote in the General Assembly on proposed gun-control legislation. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Colorado and New York also passed new gun-control requirements in the wake of the Newtown shooting, in which a 20-year-old gunman used a military-style, semi-automatic rifle to kill 20 first-grade children and six educators.

Compared with Connecticut's legislation, which, for example, bans the sale or purchase of ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds, New York restricted magazines to seven bullets and gave owners of higher-capacity magazines a year to sell them elsewhere. Colorado banned ammunition magazines that hold more than 15 rounds.

"There are pieces that are stronger in other states, but in totality, this will be the strongest gun legislation passed in the United States," Betty Gallo, a lobbyist for Connecticut Against Gun Violence, said of the Connecticut bill.

The legislation was unveiled this week, and debate began Wednesday in the Senate. The state House of Representatives was expected to take up the proposal after the Senate's anticipated approval, and Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has said he will sign it.

Many senators spoke of balancing the rights of gun owners with addressing the horror of the Sandy Hook shooting. Lawmakers said they received thousands of emails and phone calls urging them to vote either for or against the bill, with veteran Sen. Joan Hartley, a Democrat, saying she's never seen a more polarizing issue at the state Capitol.

Gun rights advocates who greatly outnumbered gun-control supporters in demonstrations at the Capitol railed against the proposals as misguided and unconstitutional, occasionally chanting "No! No! No!" and "Read the bill!"

"We want them to write laws that are sensible," said Ron Pariseau, 66, of Pomfret, who was angry he'll be made a felon if he doesn't register his weapons that will no longer be sold in Connecticut. "What they're proposing will not stop anything."

In the legislature, where Democrats control both houses, leaders waited to unveil gun legislation until they struck a bipartisan deal that they say shows how the parties can work together elsewhere. They touted the package as a comprehensive response to Newtown that also addresses mental health and school security measures, including $15 million to help pay for school security infrastructure upgrades.

But momentum on federal legislation has stalled in Congress, and President Barack Obama has planned a trip to Connecticut on Monday to step up pressure to pass a bill.

A silent majority in favor of stronger gun control has emerged following the Newtown massacre, Gallo said.

Among gun-control advocates are Dan and Lauren Garrett of Hamden, wearing green shirts in honor of the Sandy Hook victims, who traveled to Hartford with their 10-month-old son, Robert, to watch the bill's passage.

Both hope lawmakers will build on the proposal.

"It's just the beginning of this bill. In six months from now, it's going to get stronger and stronger," said Dan Garrett. "I think they're watching us all over the country."

But gun rights advocates and some lawmakers questioned whether the legislation would have done anything to stop Adam Lanza, the 20-year-old who blasted his way into Sandy Hook Elementary. State police say he fired 154 shots with a Bushmaster .223-caliber rifle inside the school, then killed himself with a handgun. He had also shot to death his mother, Nancy, before going to the school, and search warrants of the Lanzas' home showed it was packed with weapons and ammunition.

In a state where gun manufacturing dates back to the Revolutionary War, law-abiding gun owners are paying the price for the actions of a deranged young man, said a Republican state senator, Tony Guglielmo.

"The problem is I can't connect the dots between Adam Lanza and the good guys. So I think we need to do something, but I guess we should be doing something that does good, not something that just feels good," he said.