Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven) submitted testimony today to the Judiciary Committee expressing his strong support for banning bump stocks which can turn semi-automatic weapons into automatic weapons and banning untraceable “ghost guns”.
Bump stocks are devices that transform the firing mechanism of a semi-automatic weapon into a weapon that fires like a fully automatic weapon. They also make the weapon less accurate.
“Semi-automatic weapons with a bump stock device have been used in a mass shooting where clearly accuracy was not an important criterion to the shooter,” wrote Senator Looney in his testimony in support of House Bill 5542, An Act Concerning Bump Stocks and Other Means of Enhancing the Rate of Fire of a Firearm. “There is no legitimate reason why bump stocks should be owned or sold in our state.”
“Ghost guns” are guns that do not have serial numbers, most commonly because they are sold only partially assembled and thus are not required by current law to have a serial number. House Bill 5540, An Act Concerning Ghost Guns and the Permit Application Process, would close these loopholes and ban guns without serial numbers; it would also regulate firearms that are sold in a partially assembled state or are homemade. In addition, the bill would permit local authorities to interview immediate family members as part of a determination of an applicant’s suitability.
“Essentially, a person who wants to own the equivalent of an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle or a Glock semi-automatic pistol but who cannot legally own these weapons can purchase these weapons in a partially assembled state, assemble the parts and then own an equivalent weapon,” wrote Senator Looney. “There is generally no background check and no registration required. It is easy to obtain these parts from websites where an AR-15 ‘lower receiver’ can cost as little as $65 and an AR-15 ‘jig set’ costs $37. Clearly these sites are meant to exploit loopholes in gun control regulation. Connecticut should close this loophole and make our state safer.”