Connecticut’s Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy told Breitbart News on Sunday that numbers reported by The Hartford Courant, showing only 15 percent of Connecticut residents owning “assault weapons” applied for the mandated state certificate, were wrong.
“It’s not true. That’s a made up number and quite frankly you’re repeating a made up number. It was a made up number–I have no reason to believe that that’s at all true in Connecticut,” said Malloy who was attending the National Governors Association Winter meeting in DC .
Connecticut residents were required to register firearms classified as assault weapons with state police by December 31. Lt. Paul Vance told The Courant that 47,916 applications for assault weapons certificates were received by the end of 2013. Another 2,100 that were incomplete may still be on their way.
The Newtown, Connecticut based National Shooting Sports Foundation along with others in the gun industry noted the amount of applicants reported is still low, leading The Courant to conclude, “the most conservative estimates place the number of unregistered assault weapons well above 50,000, and perhaps as high as 350,000.
As a Connecticut resident owning an unregistered firearm the state considers to be an “assault” weapon, an individual is committing a Class D felony. In this case, Connecticut may have several hundred thousands of new felons flouting the gun law passed last April.
Malloy would not say if he would condone hunting down those in his state who are ignoring the law saying, “I’m not the chief law enforcement official in the state of Connecticut.”
Connecticut’s top official in criminal justice official Mike Lawlor told the Courant, “A lot of it is just a question to ask, and I think the firearms unit would be looking at it,” adding, “They could send them a letter.”
Regardless of the amount of gun owners in Connecticut who may have blown off the deadline, Lawlor still believes the gun restrictions in the new legislation is still successful.
“Like anything else, people who violate the law face consequences. … that’s their decision. The consequences are pretty clear. …There’s nothing unique about this,” Lawlor said. “The goal is to have fewer of these types of weapons in circulation.”
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