CT Group Aims To Overturn Post-Sandy Hook Gun Law

CONNECTICUT — The Connecticut Citizens Defense League filed a federal lawsuit against Connecticut officials in a bid to overturn the state’s assault weapon ban.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of three individual plaintiffs who want to possess rifles that are banned under Connecticut law. It is also backed the Second Amendment Foundation.

It is at least the second gun-related lawsuit filed against Connecticut since the U.S. Supreme Court’s New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen decision, which overturned New York State’s strict handgun permitting system. The National Association for Gun Rights also sued Connecticut over its assault weapon and high-capacity magazine ban.

CCDL President Holly Sullivan said in a statement that people deserve to live in safe communities, but denying ownership of commonly-owned firearms isn’t the answer.

“The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bruen has opened the door to this challenge, and we believe Connecticut will be hard-pressed to prove its statutes are constitutional,” said CCDL President Holly Sullivan. “Like those defending the New York statute stricken down in Bruen, anti-gun officials here in Connecticut trumpet their laws as being the harshest in the country.”

State Attorney General William Tong promised to defend the state’s gun laws.

“This latest threat is disturbing, but not surprising,” he said in a statement. “The moment the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Bruen, I knew the gun lobby was coming for Connecticut’s post-Sandy Hook gun safety laws. We will not allow weapons of war back into our schools, our houses of worship, our grocery stores, and our communities.”

Gov. Ned Lamont said in a statement the state will vigorously defend its commonsense gun laws.

“Connecticut’s law banning assault weapons was adopted in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook tragedy as part of a bipartisan effort to prevent needless tragedy, and it is overwhelmingly supported by the people who live here,” he said. “It has withstood previous legal challenges despite the persistent efforts of opponents of gun safety to undermine it.

Connecticut expanded its assault weapon ban in 2013 following the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which left 20 children and six educators dead. The shooter used a Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle and several 30-round magazines.

The bipartisan legislation expanded the banned weapons list, including AR-15-style rifles. It also banned the sale and transfer of magazines that could carry more than 10 bullets to the general public. People who already owned such firearms and magazines were grandfathered in, but had to register them with state police.