Address to the Senate Judicial Committee, Chief Fernando Spanish explained how his community has benefited from Connecticut’s strict gun laws, many of which have been passed since the 2012 Sandy Hook school shootings.
“The events of that day, the loss of those young children and their teachers, shook the nation to the core,” said Spagnolo.
Within a week there have been two mass shootings – one in Georgia and one in Colorado. While Spagnolo and others called for tougher gun laws on Tuesday, there was opposition.
“Every time there is a shooting, we play in this ridiculous theater where this committee comes together and proposes a lot of laws that would do nothing to stop these murders,” said Texas Republican Ted Cruz.
During his testimony, which he gave remotely, Spagnolo said between 2014 and 2019 that in Waterbury there was a 41% decrease in gun-based assassinations and 15% in gun suicides. He attributed this to Connecticut gun laws.
Connecticut gun laws include mandatory background checks and disqualification for criminals and those with a history of mental illness.
In 1999, Mike Lawlor helped draft some of these laws when he was an adviser to Governor Dannel Malloy. Lawlor, who is now an associate professor at the University of New Haven, helped write the Connecticut Red Flag Gun Laws. He said other states can take advantage of what is being done here.
“It’s not about banning all weapons. It’s about regulating access to these firearms, ”Lawlor said.
Spagnolo agrees and would like the surrounding states to reflect what Connecticut has done.
“It would certainly reduce the number of weapons that end up in the hands of banned persons. It would make our community safer, ”Spagnolo explained in an interview with NBC Connecticut after the hearing.