Four States Pass New State Gun Safety Laws

New York, Colorado, Connecticut, and Maryland have confronted the gun problem head on and passed new firearm safety laws. While Congress dithers about the gun issue, these four states have adopted a page from the Republican playbook and sought solutions close to home at a statewide level.

New York was the first state to act following the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre of 20 students and six adults. The new law broadens the definition of what is considered an assault weapon, reduces the permissible size of gun magazines, acts to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill, and increases penalties on people who use guns in the commission of a crime.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, commented after signing the bill, “I am proud to be part of this government, not just because New York has the first bill, but because New York has the best bill. I’m proud to be a New Yorker because New York is doing something – because we are fighting back.”(New York Times, 1/15/13)

The path to a new law was more difficult in Colorado which has a rich tradition as a hunting and outdoors state. However, the bloody mass shootings at Columbine High School and an Aurora movie theater turned public opinion in favor of gun safety. That change is reflected in Gov. John Hickenlooper’s thinking during the gun debate.

The New York Times (3/18/13) notes, “Eight months later, Mr. Hickenlooper is poised to sign some of the toughest new gun control laws in the nation, capping a journey that has transformed a popular, data-driven Western Democrat who takes his son shooting into an unlikely frontman for bringing new gun laws into the center of the United States.”

Rather than inflexibly defending one side or the other in the gun dispute, Hickenlooper looked for facts. His staff sought data on mass shootings, crime statistics, and gaps in mental health laws. “After attending funerals and memorial services for the victims of the Aurora movie theater shooting, Mr. Hickenlooper started asking questions about guns and death. Did ammunition limits make sense? Did background checks really keep guns away from potential killers?” (New York Times, 3/18/13)

The resulting bill which Gov. Hickenlooper signed into law requires universal background checks and a limit on the size of ammunition magazines to 15 rounds.

Connecticut is home to firearms manufacturers and so should be slow to adopt gun safety regulations. However, as was the case in Colorado, it took a gun-related tragedy, the carnage at Sandy Hook Elementary School, to mobilize public opinion in favor of tighter regulations.

The Connecticut bill passed with bipartisan support. The Times (4/1/13) quotes John McKinney, a Republican who represents Newtown and is the State Senate minority leader. “I wake up in the morning and put this green ribbon and pin on my jacket to remember those we’ve lost. And what I’m proud of is that all of us, Republicans and Democrats, understood that some issues, and this one particularly, should rise above politics.”

Connecticut’s new law requires universal background checks, expands the state’s existing ban on assault weapons, limits the size of ammunition magazines to 10 rounds, and addresses mental health and school security issues, including $15 million to help pay for school security infrastructure upgrades.

Maryland is the most recent state to pass gun safety regulations. The new law expands background checks, prohibits magazines holding more than 10 bullets, bans 45 types of semiautomatic rifles, and requires those buying any gun other than a shotgun or hunting rifle to obtain a license.

 “Delegate Talmadge Branch, D-Baltimore, told lawmakers how Baltimore legislators regularly attend funerals of people who are gunned down, He described a calendar that sometimes included two funerals a week or two a month. ‘ We don’t have a need for an assault rifle in the city of Baltimore,’ Branch said. ‘We don’t have that kind of need, and we don’t need guns on the street that are unlicensed . . .’” (Washington Post, 4/3/13)

Pro-gun advocates often say that “guns don’t kill people, people do.” The legislation about to be considered by Congress is much less restrictive than that passed by the four states mentioned in this column. The federal package contains only the requirement for universal background checks and criminal penalties for “straw purchases.” Straw purchases are those where a person who can clear background checks buys guns and sells them to felons or others who cannot purchase firearms on their own.

Neither of these measures restricts guns, only the people who buy guns illegally. Gun advocates ought to heartily endorse both of them. Not so, of course. Presently, 12 Republican senators are preparing to filibuster the gun safety bill. Gun enthusiasts are not ready to compromise in any way.

And so, as a result, 30,000 Americans are killed by guns each year. That’s seven times the number of Americans killed during the entire Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Somehow, that doesn’t seem to bother the consciences of pro-gun politicians in Washington like Kelly Ayotte, whose primary concern is apparently their re-election.