Connecticut gun-control advocates decry Supreme Court ruling; expect lawsuits against CT gun laws

Connecticut gun-control advocates decried the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Thursday that makes it easier to obtain a gun, saying it will open the door to further lawsuits.

The nation’s highest court overturned a New York law that dates back to 1913 and says that applicants need to show “proper cause” that they need a gun for self defense in order to obtain a license that they could carry the concealed weapon in public.

But the court ruled 6-3 that the New York law “violates the Fourteenth Amendment by preventing law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their right to keep and bear arms in public.”

State Attorney General William Tong said that Connecticut’s handgun laws are “not immediately impacted” because they are different from New York’s. But he added that the court ruling will likely generate civil lawsuits in Connecticut and nationwide.

“This decision is a radical rewrite of the court’s prior positions on the Second Amendment and states’ rights to pass commonsense gun safety legislation,” Tong said. “We should expect a wave of new lawsuits nationwide and here in Connecticut, coordinated by gun groups like the NRA, challenging our assault weapons ban, age restrictions on gun ownership, prohibitions on guns in sensitive locations like schools, and provisions enabling public safety professionals to review the suitability of an applicant before granting a gun permit.

“This decision is reckless, and the consequences for public safety nationwide are dire, but it was not unexpected.”

Based on his expectations about increased litigation, Tong said his office is “ready to aggressively defend Connecticut’s laws.”

Tong has been closely following the case, known as New York State Rifle & Pistol v. Bruen, and joined 17 other attorneys general in filing a brief with the court when the case was being deliberated.

But House Republican leader Vincent Candelora of North Branford was pleased with the decision, saying that Democrats are politicizing the ruling.

“I didn’t read it as the sky is falling. Everybody can take a deep breath,” Candelora said in an interview. “To me, the decision makes sense. ... I got an email from the NRA, claiming victory. I think it’s a pro-constitutional right ruling. I don’t view it as a pro-gun piece of regulation.”

He said the decision will “make it less arbitrary to get a permit,” adding that “a constitutional right should be exercised by everybody.”

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a longtime gun-control advocate, predicted more shootings because guns will be easier to obtain.

“This deeply destructive decision will unleash even more gun violence on American communities,” Blumenthal said. “Instead of upholding commonsense safeguards to reduce gun violence, it will only put more guns in public spaces and open the floodgates to invalidate sensible gun safety laws in more states. Worse yet, it is a significant step backwards at a moment when horrendous shootings happen across our country every day, taking too many beautiful lives and terrorizing generations of Americans.”

Gun safety has moved to the top of the political agenda in the U.S. Senate following the shooting deaths of 10 workers and shoppers at a Buffalo supermarket, followed 10 days later by the shooting deaths of 19 children and two educators at a Texas elementary school.

But Blumenthal said legislation is proceeding in the Senate, where a procedural vote passed Thursday, 65-34.

“This opinion in no way impugns the constitutionality of the commonsense Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that the Senate should approve this week,” Blumenthal said. “As gun violence soars, Congress must heed the will of the majority of Americans who support gun safety measures and break the legislative logjam to stop this senseless violence. This activist Supreme Court is once again legislating from the bench, but Congress must continue to legislate for a safer America.”

State Sen. Rob Sampson, a conservative Republican who is among the strongest gun advocates in the state legislature, said the ruling reinforces the Bill of Rights and the three dissenting justices simply do not understand the law.

“They are wrong, and they don’t properly understand the Constitution, and they don’t even properly understand the premise of the United States of America, which is that we are a country of free people‚” Sampson said in an interview.

“It’s nice to see the Supreme Court actually correct things.”

Greenwich resident Leora Levy, who is running in a Republican primary for U.S. Senate to face Blumenthal, agreed with Sampson that the high court made the correct decision.

“Biden and Blumenthal are crying foul today about the Supreme Court’s ruling, clearly eager to dismiss Americans’ constitutional rights,” Levy said. “Our Justices did their job and reinforced law-abiding Americans’ Second Amendment rights in the face of overreaching state laws.”

State Sen. Gary Winfield, a New Haven Democrat who co-chairs the judiciary committee, said the legislature will be ready to revise laws if needed.

“In Connecticut, we have worked diligently to pass commonsense gun safety legislation to protect our citizens,” Winfield said. “This case — and the ensuing lawsuits that will follow from it — threaten those protections. We remain steadfast in our efforts and will be ready with any necessary legislative responses to ensure that Connecticut remains at the forefront of gun safety and that our citizens remain safe within the boundaries of this state.”

Gov. Ned Lamont said that the ruling will not stop Connecticut from enforcing some of the toughest gun laws in the nation.

“As a matter of fact, the court specifically distinguished our approach when it comes to the issuance of permits and tools for law enforcement to keep firearms out of the hands of those who may do harm,” Lamont said.

“However, we should all be concerned that today’s ruling heralds a newly aggressive effort to second-guess commonsense state and local policies that save lives while accommodating both gun rights and gun safety. One thing we know is true: more guns do not make us safer, and as governor, I will continue to pursue policies that make our laws stronger to keep our residents out of harm’s way.”

State Rep. Steven Stafstrom, a Bridgeport Democrat who co-chairs the legislature’s judiciary committee, noted that the justices directly cited Connecticut in the ruling.

“One silver lining however is that the Court specifically recognized that Connecticut’s restrictions on the issue of gun permits passes constitutional muster,” Stafstrom said. “Connecticut will continue to lead the push for sensible gun control.”

At the same time, Stafstrom said that the court’s timing is bad as the nation is still mourning the deaths in mass shootings in Buffalo and Texas.

“The fact that the Supreme Court would suggest more guns in more places is what the framers of the Constitution intended at a time when so many Americans are living in fear of shootings in our schools, shopping malls, places of worship and on our streets, is simply nuts,” he said.

Former state Rep. Michael Lawlor, who teaches about guns in his criminal law class at the University of New Haven, said the easiest way for New York and other states to resolve the issue is to adopt Connecticut’s gun laws.

“In New York, if you want a permit, you have to come up with a reason why you need it, and they get to say whether it’s good enough or not,” Lawlor said in an interview.

“That’s what they said you can’t do, but Connecticut doesn’t do that, so it doesn’t affect Connecticut at all. It seems to me the simplest thing for New York to do is just to adopt the Connecticut system, which is you need a permit to carry a gun around, and you can get one, but if there is some reason that you shouldn’t have it, they can deny it as long as there’s an objective basis — in other words, you’re a habitual drunk or you’re a convicted felon.

“No one is saying that anybody can have a gun, no matter what, any place they want. There’s always a question of what is the justification for denying someone the right to carry a gun around. That’s the issue.”

Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com.