Representatives on both sides in the gun debate faced off last week, as Connecticut gunmakers responded to a Danbury speech by Vice President Joseph R. Biden with a video plea for a “meaningful discussion” of proposed regulatory changes.
Biden, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and other state and federal lawmakers spoke at a Feb. 21 conference at Western Connecticut State University, where they continued to lobby for quick action in Hartford and Washington.
“There”™s a moral price to be paid for inaction,” Biden said at the conference, which also featured Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy. “No law-abiding citizen in the United States of America has any fear that their constitutional rights will be infringed in any way. None. Zero.”
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), a gun rights advocacy group based in Newtown, countered with a video of interviews with Connecticut weapons industry representatives, who emphasized the value of the industry to the state”™s economy.
In the NSSF video, Mark Malkowski, president of Stag Arms L.L.C. in New Britain, said, “I don”™t want to think about leaving here. This is our home. This is where our families are.”
Joseph Bartozzi, senior vice president and general counsel for O.F. Mossberg & Sons Inc. of North Haven ”” the nation”™s oldest family-run gun manufacturer ””said, “Banning or limiting certain types of firearms would certainly have an effect” on a company like O.F. Mossberg.
“We”™ve just invested in this facility over $4 million in new equipment,” Bartozzi said in the NSSF video. “We”™ve hired 100 new people to operate these machines and assemble these new products that are being sent out to market. So the effect would be dramatic.”
Bartozzi called for a “meaningful discussion on the technical merits” of products like the modern sporting rifle, for which Malloy has sought a more comprehensive statewide ban.
Malloy introduced a five-step plan to reform the state”™s gun regulations Feb. 21 in advance of the WCSU event, calling for universal background checks, a ban on the possession of magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, a ban on semiautomatic weapons with any military-stile feature, broader gun storage requirements, and improved enforcement of existing laws.
“Two months ago, our state became the center of a national debate after a tragedy we never imagined could happen here,” Malloy said at WCSU. “We have changed. And I believe it is now time for our laws to do the same.”
While the General Assembly has convened a 52-member bipartisan task force of legislatures to examine possible changes, Malloy demanded a speedy vote. “We have to vote on a bill that will make our state and our country safer.”
Last week, Sen. Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, said its members would soon take up debate on gun violence protection measures, including bills that would institute universal background checks and reinstate a national assault weapons ban.
Rep. Jim Himes, a Greenwich Democrat, said he was encouraged by the news from Leahy but expressed dismay that the House of Representatives has yet to broach new gun regulations.
“I”™m actually quite optimistic that Connecticut will get a package of good reforms passed, but it”™s not sufficient,” Himes said, arguing that federal action is critical.
