Federal Court Upholds Connecticut Gun Control Law

Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, center, signs legislation at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Thursday, April 4, 2013, that includes new restrictions on weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines, a response t... Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, center, signs legislation at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Thursday, April 4, 2013, that includes new restrictions on weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines, a response to last year's deadly school shooting in Newtown. Neil Heslin, behind left, father of Sandy Hook shooting victim Jesse Lewis, Nicole Hockley, right, mother of Sandy Hook School shooting victim Dylan, and Conn. Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, left, look on. The legislation adds more than 100 firearms to the state's assault weapons ban, sets eligibility rules for buying ammunition, and creates what officials have called the nation's first dangerous weapon offender registry. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) MORE LESS
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A federal district court on Thursday upheld a Connecticut gun control law that expanded the state’s assault weapons ban, created a dangerous weapon offender registry and formed new rules for buying ammunition, the Hartford Courant reported.

“The court concludes that the legislation is constitutional,” Judge Alfred Covello wrote in the decision. “While the act burdens the plaintiffs’ Second Amendment rights, it is substantially related to the important governmental interest of public safety and crime control.”

The law was passed and signed by Gov. Dannel Malloy last year in the wake of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and went into effect at the beginning of 2014.

A group of gun owners challenged the law, claiming that it violated the Second Amendment. Covello, a Republican appointee, rebutted their claims and said that the law was meant to provide for public safety.

“Obviously, the court cannot foretell how successful the legislation will be in preventing crime,” he wrote. “Nevertheless, for the purposes of the court’s inquiry here, Connecticut, in passing the legislation, has drawn reasonable inferences from substantial evidence.”

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