Connecticut: Numerous Gun Bills Scheduled for Committee Hearing This Week

Dear [Lawmaker],

As a fellow resident of Connecticut, I urge you to OPPOSE HB 7042 and HB 7137, and to SUPPORT HB 7194 and HB 7070 in your committee.

HB 7042 would allow civil causes of action to be brought against firearm industry members who allegedly fail to establish, implement, or enforce “reasonable controls,” as defined by the bill. The law has the potential to bankrupt local firearm industry members through a litany of lawsuits, inflating business costs in such a fashion that it severely limits opportunities for gun owners to lawfully purchase firearms, ammunition, and components.

HB 7137 provides that certain convictions for misdemeanors and juvenile offenses made in other states and jurisdictions would disqualify a person for a carry permit, firearms eligibility, or ammunition certificate in Connecticut if the offense is substantially similar to a Connecticut disqualifying offense. Additionally, HB 7137 would also require a specific Merchant Category Code (MCC) to be assigned to each firearms or ammunition retailer in the state, which can then be used to track firearm and ammunition purchases in Connecticut. Collecting firearm retailer financial transaction data amounts to surveillance and registration of law-abiding gun owners. This bill would seriously violate the financial privacy of firearms and ammunition purchasers, as all the collected firearm retailer MCC data could be shared with the government and potentially third parties, that may include gun control organizations and anti-gun researchers.

House Bill 7194 would clarify the provisions concerning the discharge of firearms in the case of self-defense or in lawful defense of another person, and further, it would allow the legal transfer of so-called “assault weapons” and “large capacity” magazines between people who already legally possess such firearms or magazines.

House Bill 7070 would strengthen the right to self-defense by removing the duty to retreat for a person in a house of religious worship, before using deadly physical force to defend themselves or a third person.

Again, I urge you to OPPOSE HB 7042 and HB 7137, and to SUPPORT HB 7194 and HB 7070 in your committee.

Thank you for all that you do for our state.

Sincerely,
______

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