CT survivors, advocates and politicians vow to defend domestic violence gun laws following ‘tragic’ federal appeals court reversal

Lori Jackson’s family believes that the mother of two from Oxford would still be alive today if laws were in place to prevent her estranged husband, whom she had a temporary protective order against, from owning a gun.

Jackson was shot to death in May 2014, when Scott Gellatly broke into her parents’ home and fired at his wife and mother-in-law. Now Jackson’s mother, who survived the shooting, is speaking out against a federal appeals court decision last week that ruled laws banning people from owning guns while they are the subject of domestic violence restraining orders are unconstitutional.

The court ruling, made last week in the Fifth Circuit court, came just days after another Connecticut woman, 52-year-old Traci Jones, was shot to death by her husband Lester Jones in Bethel. Jones was killed in a murder-suicide the night before her husband was scheduled to appear in court for a protective order she had recently filed for, records show.

Traci Jones had recently filed for a protective order after Lester Jones allegedly threatened her life, according to court filings.

A restraining order was granted at a court hearing on Jan. 24. Lester Jones, who allegedly did own at least one gun, was ordered by the restraining order to surrender all firearms and ammunition, according to one court filing in the application process.

The federal appeals court’s ruling does not have a direct impact on Connecticut’s laws — it is still illegal for someone who is the subject of a restraining order or temporary protective order to own guns here — but state lawmakers are concerned that it opens a dangerous door — one Connecticut advocates and lawmakers have worked hard to close.

In a room filled with those who have advocated for ways to prevent domestic violence abusers from having access to firearms in Connecticut and across the nation, Attorney General William Tong said Monday morning that the new ruling was “a tragic decision and a radical decision.”

“What the Fifth Circuit court is saying is that even though this is a good idea — to protect victims of domestic violence — that we are powerless to protect them,” he said. “We are not powerless, not by a long shot.”

Tong lauded state laws like those struck down by the appeals court.

“Our laws are strong and constitutional, and today they will keep people safe, tonight they will save lives,” said Tong. “And here in Connecticut, we are going to fight tooth and nail against any challenge to protect Connecticut families, victims of domestic violence and to protect our very strong gun laws here in Connecticut.”

Merry Jackson, her husband Doug Jackson and their daughter Kacey Mason — Lori Jackson’s sister who is now raising her twins — stood beside Tong at a rally outside his office Monday as he credited their hard work championing laws that may have saved Lori.

Merry Jackson spoke through tears as she asked for support.

“Please fight with us and help us,” she said, adding that she doesn’t understand why anyone would oppose laws to further protect victims of domestic violence.

“It’s not like we’re taking their guns away forever,” she said of people who are the subject of protective orders. “Take the guns away while they are agitated. Let them calm down and figure things out and give the person the chance, if they have to, to get into hiding and protect themselves.”

Eight years later, Jackson said she still remembers hearing her daughter scream for help when Gellatly broke into their home, then hearing her daughter take her last breaths.

Mason said right now is “a really scary time” as she worries that protections they’ve fought so hard for might be rolled back.

She and her family worked hard to pass state laws in her sister’s name and still stand by the idea that the new laws would have prevented their family’s tragedy.

“I stand behind the bill, it would’ve made a difference in our circumstance,” she said.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who has introduced the Lori Jackson Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act in Congress, hopes to pass federal legislation that expands the scope of qualifying domestic violence court orders.

“We need to strengthen those laws that separate men from their guns when they say or show that they are about to kill someone,” said Blumenthal.

Statistics show that victims of domestic violence are five times more likely to be killed in domestic violence incidents if there is a firearm in the home. Advocates in Connecticut say that domestic violence victims are at some of their highest risks when they leave their abusive partner.

“That is the moment of maximum rage or danger. That is the time when that man ought to be separated from a lethal weapon,” said Blumenthal.

Blumenthal and Tong were joined at the rally Monday by Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz — who called the appellate court ruling “utterly unconscionable” — Jeremy Stein, executive director of Connecticut Against Gun Violence, Mary-Jane Foster, president and CEO of Interval House and dozens of others.

Megan Scanlon, president and CEO of Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said at the rally that “we owe it to women and especially to children to create a world that is safer for them.”

The Fifth Circuit ruling came on the heels of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen that set new standards for Second Amendment interpretations, saying that gun control laws have to be “consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”

The U.S. Justice Department issued a statement from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland after the ruling that emphasized long-standing laws that say a person who is subject to a court order restraining them from threatening a partner or child cannot legally have guns and that those laws are constitutional.

The statement said that the department will further review the new decision. Tong issued a reminder on Monday that “Connecticut’s laws are in full effect.”

“If you are the subject of a restraining order, you need to hand over your firearms,” he said.

Mason said that she hopes people who are experiencing domestic violence will choose not to ignore red flags and that their family members will continue to support them and reach out to statewide resources for help.

“Please, please reach out to the services,” Mason said. “We did not, and that’s the one thing I would do differently.”

Connecticut’s free, confidential domestic violence hotline can be reached 24/7 at 1-888-774-2900 for services in English and 1-844-831-9200 for services in Spanish.

To reach the national domestic violence hotline, call 1-800-799-7233.