Politics & Government

Gun Owners' Names, Addresses Could Become Public

A West Haven lawmaker has introduced a bill to make public the names of some 170,000 gun owners in Connecticut.

 

If you own a gun in this state your name and address could become public under a bill introduced in the General Assembly by State Rep. Stephen D. Dargan, D-West Haven.

Dargan filed the proposal in response to the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown that killed 20 children and 6 women on Dec. 14. His proposal would overturn a law passed in Connecticut 20 years ago that keeps private the names and addresses of gun owners.

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In an interview with the Hartford Courant, Dargan said he wants gun ownership information to fall under the state's Freedom of Information Act in part so that parents can know whether the parents of their child's friends have guns in their homes.

"Maybe their kids are going over to Johnny Smith's, and maybe they want to see whether they have guns in the house," he told the newspaper.

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Dargan's proposal follows another bill that was filed recently that seeks to limit who can own gun ammunition in Connecticut and to keep such ammunition out of the hands of felons. Gun control issues are expected to dominate the General Assembly's winter session, which formally begins next week, in the wake of the Newtown massacre.


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