Bridgeport officials push to clarify Connecticut’s open carry gun law

[Jorg]

Don't believe there was a vote before the end of the legislative session.

Some folks got upset when they saw the guy open carrying at a subway.
https://www.northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/threads/300109-OC-in-CT-Guy-is-asked-to-leave-Subway

[h=1]Bridgeport officials push to clarify Connecticut’s open carry gun law[/h]HARTFORD >> Bridgeport officials and police officers are imploring legislators to act before the end of the legislative session on a bill allowing law enforcement to ask a person to see their permit to carry a firearm, regardless of whether the individual was suspected of criminal activity.

Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim — at a press conference Wednesday morning with Bridgeport police officers, Police Chief AJ Perez, Sen. Ed Gomes and Rep. Steve Stafstrom, both D-Bridgeport, asked for passage of H.B. 5408, “An Act Concerning the Presentation of a Carry Permit.”

The bill passed by a vote of 16-9 out of the Public Safety Committee and now awaits action by the House of Representatives, but time is running out. The 2016 legislative session ends at midnight May 4.

“No one is questioning anyone’s constitutionally protected right to bear arms, but we also have a high degree of gun violence in communities like Bridgeport, so we want to protect the public and make the already dangerous job of being a police officer clearer,” Ganim said.

Under the current law, officers can’t ask a person to see their permit if they don’t see the weapon and the person is not committing a crime.

Law enforcement officers throughout Connecticut have called for the bill after a video surfaced in January in which an individual was openly carrying a pistol in a downtown Bridgeport Subway franchise.

When Bridgeport police officers — responding to a call for suspicious activity by an armed person — asked to see the man’s permit, the individual challenged the officers’ right to demand he show his permit, and the individual was let go.

The video pointed out ambiguities in state gun laws surrounding open carry of firearms, since under existing law a police officer can only ask to see a firearms permit if the officer has reasonable suspicion that a crime is being committed.

 

[dhuze]

Let me see your papers! This is not a free society.

 

[robjax]

so now just wear them like hunting licenses and strut your stuff with your AR....oh wait...you can't have an AR either....

anyway, you knew this was only a matter of time...

 

[spcantwell]

I love how they want to "clarify" by making an entirely new law in which a law abiding person has to prove their innocence.
How dare we force police to only be able to stop and force you to show documentation if they suspect you of actually violating the law...
This could open a whole can of worms though... If they pass this , can police stop and indentify anyone who looks like an immigrant? How about people who are voting who look like they already voted that day? Can peons demand a so called "officer" to show Id? After all anyone can play dress up and get a little toy badge....

 

[JayMcB]

So the session ended May 4th. What happened?

 

[Infinite Jester]

Just carry a pocket constitution to show. There's your papers!

 

[jkelly1229]

so now just wear them like hunting licenses and strut your stuff with your AR....oh wait...you can't have an AR either....

anyway, you knew this was only a matter of time...

I wouldnt go back to Bridgeport without a freaking tank

 

[ToddDubya]

It doesn't sound like they need to clarify the law at all. The problem wasn't that it was a grey area, it was that the cop wanted to see his papers and he didn't have to show them because he wasn't doing anything wrong.

 

[gamma19]

Funny that Joseph Ganim, a convicted felon, wants a new law to enable the police to harass law abiding citizens.

 

[GM-GUY]

If anyone has no problem with this law, how about every car gets stopped and checked for a drivers license - it's the same thing.

 

[Jorg]

Got this from the NRA

Last night, the Connecticut General Assembly adjourned sine die, marking an end to the 2016 Legislative Session. This session saw the introduction of a number of anti-gun bills, which your NRA-ILA and the freedom loving people of Connecticut fought very hard against.


House Bill 5408 was never brought up for consideration in the House after passing out of committee. As previously reported, HB 5408 would have allowed police officers to demand that Connecticut handgun permit holders present their permit if the officer had reason to believe they were carrying a handgun. It would have violated a citizen’s freedom from unreasonable search and seizure guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Current law already allows police officers to request proof of a permit, but only when they have a “reasonable suspicion” that a crime is being committed, supported by articulable facts that criminal activity is occurring.


Senate Bill 227 was also not brought up for consideration in the House after passing out of the Senate. SB 227 would have banned the possession, importation, sale, or transport of any legally acquired hunting trophies of African “Big Five” species. Anti-hunting extremists have long targeted legal African big game hunting, while claiming that they were combating illegal poaching. In reality, these hunts are carried out in a sustainable manner by law abiding hunters and are an integral part of conservation efforts based on sound science. In addition, revenue from these sportsmen fund conservation and anti-poaching efforts in many foreign countries


House Bill 5578 was also never brought up for consideration in the House after passing out of committee. HB 5578 would have prohibited the sale and trade of ivory and rhinoceros horn. Historically, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has always maintained the position that most ivory in the U.S. has been legally imported and that its sale in the U.S. did not materially contribute to the illegal ivory trade.
Unfortunately, House Bill 5054 was passed out of the Connecticut Legislature and sent to Governor Dannel Malloy’s desk for his expected signature. As previously reported, it will require the recipient of an ex parte temporary restraining order to surrender their firearms to police or a licensed dealer within 24 hours of being served with an order. This ex parte order, which strips the accused of their Second Amendment rights, would be issued by a judge based solely on a brief statement of an accuser and before the accused can appear in court to defend themselves against the allegations. Often these orders come with no allegations of criminal behavior. Fortunately, the bill was amended to provide for an expedited hearing for gun owners within seven days of the order, to require police to return all firearms within five days upon the expiration of the order, and to guarantee that any legal, pre-ban firearms be returned.


NRA-ILA would like to thank the numerous NRA members and Second Amendment supporters in Connecticut who testified in committees and maintained contact with their lawmakers during session. In addition, thank you to the Connecticut Citizens Defense League and the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen for their hard work in their vigilant defense of constitutional rights in Connecticut. Special thanks to state Representatives Rob Sampson and Doug Dubitsky for their unyielding support of the Second Amendment rights of Connecticut gun owners.