Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and State Attorney General George Jepsen said the U.S. Supreme Court made the right decision when it decided not to hear challenges to changes in Connecticut’s gun control laws in the wake of the Sandy Hook shootings in Dec. 2012.
According to Bloomberg, the justices refused to question assault-rifle bans in New York and Connecticut. The ruling left intact federal appeals court rulings that said the bans comply with the constitutional right to bear arms.
Malloy said the ruling is a demonstration that commonsense gun laws not only work, they are Constitutional. “We have the ability to act – the question is whether or not elected officials have the will,” Malloy said of his counterparts in other states.
Jepsen, in a statement, said the Supreme Court’s action in declining to hear the appeal affirms that the reforms enacted in Connecticut were “reasonable, sensible and lawful.” He said the law keeps guns out of the hands of those who seek to commit acts of violence without infringing on the rights of sportsmen and those who seek to keep guns for personal protection.
The assault-weapon ban outlaws the ownership of semi-automatic weapons that are customized in a variety of ways that convert them to what the state defines as assault weapons.
