Democrat Senator Rejects Connecticut Gun Control Proposal

State Sen. Gary Winfield (D) took exception to the push of a Connecticut bill targeting repeat firearm offenders, suggesting it would unintentionally target former offenders who are carrying guns for self-defense.

The Connecticut State Assembly held a 12-hour hearing on gun control Monday, during which time Winfield noted his reservations about the repeat-offender legislation, CT Mirror reported. According to the report, the bill is supported by “the mayors of Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven and Waterbury.”

The legislation creates a “serious firearm offense,” impacting bail and leading to “an immediate revocation of probation or parole.”

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin (D) pushed the gun control bill, but Winfield expressed concern the legislation “would create legal jeopardy for the many men who carry illegal firearms for their own protection.”

Winfield said to Bronin, “What person on the streets of Hartford who’s spending time out there, or who was in a neighborhood who used to spend time out there, doesn’t have an illegal firearm?”

Other gun control pushes have run into trouble in Connecticut during recent months.

For example, on December 11, Breitbart News noted that Democrat Gov. Ned Lamont said AR-15s “should not be allowed in the state of Connecticut” and pushed to prohibit ownership of AR-15s previously grandfathered by the state. The agreement to grandfather the rifles was part of the means used to secure the state’s “assault weapons” ban.

On December 13, The Day, New London pointed out that “support for Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont’s controversial proposal to no longer allow ownership of AR-15 rifles in Connecticut is thin among area legislators — even among members of his own party.”

State Sen. Cathy Osten (D) responded to Lamont’s proposal by saying, “I would not support that initiative. We made a promise to people, we need to maintain that promise.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. AWR Hawkins holds a PhD in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.