Connecticut

Matt Dery of New London, Conn., has been fighting for almost six years to hold on to his property. But since the city of New London ceded eminent domain powers to the New London Development Corporation, the NLDC is trying to take the property for various private uses.

A proposal to study the creation of a ballistics-fingerprinting database for new handguns died in the final hours of Connecticut's 2003 legislative session Wednesday. The Senate approved the measure last week, but the House of Representatives never called the bill for a vote before lawmakers adjourned at midnight. Gun-control advocates argued that a database could help police solve crimes by making it easier to trace guns to their original buyers, but gun rights groups and some forensics experts have questioned whether the technology works.

The end of the national ban on assault weapons will leave Connecticut as one of seven states where those guns will remain illegal. And gun rights advocates don't expect that to change soon.

"Nothing is going to change here in Connecticut and I don't perceive anybody going after the legislature in trying to get rid of the law this year," said Robert Crook, executive director of the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen.

"Maybe next year, maybe the year after, we'll make an effort to get rid of it," Crook said.

If they want to wait a bit before making the effort, that's fine by me. I expect they want to watch the elections to see what happens. Of course, anyone living in Connecticut might want to give them a call and see if you can't hurry things up a bit.

Two gun-control bills being considered by the legislature's Judiciary Committee won support Monday from a bipartisan group of lawmakers and the Police Chiefs Association.

One bill would require any lost or stolen handgun be reported to police within 72 hours, while the other bill would require stores that sell "long guns" to obtain a state permit.

"With increased gun crime rates and easy access to firearms, it is imperative that we control the sale of guns by possession of a permit and require persons to report theft or loss to the police," said state Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

Doesn't this idiot realize that even the CDC doesn't think gun control reduces crime?

Wal-Mart, bowing to pressure from city officials, has agreed to halt the sale of guns, hunting bows and even paintball guns at a store set to open next month. Scott Huddleston, general manager for the Wal-Mart store, said the company agreed to not stock the items after discussions with city officials, the New Haven Register reported.

"Going into a new community, we want to do what the community wants so that was an agreement we made," he said. Police Chief Francisco Ortiz Jr. wrote to the retail giant expressing his displeasure at the prospective sale of guns. "As a police chief in an urban center, I'm very concerned about the lawful as well as unlawful possession of firearms in the community," he said.

Take a moment and read that quote again. Maybe you missed it the first time. He's very concerned about the lawful possession of firearms in the community. Apparantly, he feels that it is appropriate to abuse his position of public service to threaten a store in the hopes of preventing them from selling legal products. And not just firearms -- hunting bows and paintball guns too!

This is about as offensive as it gets. Maybe some communication from gun owners would straighten things out. The general manager of the store is Scott Huddleston, and Wal-Mart has a comment form. Remember to be polite; we want to convince Wal-Mart not to give in to the crazies on the other side. You might also want to ask the newspaper why they didn't question a police chief ordering a local store not to carry legal products.