In Connecticut, a proposed state bill that would ban the sale of pistols capable of being converted into a fully automatic weapon is closer to becoming law.
The Connecticut House of Representatives voted 86 to 64 Wednesday to pass the bill. The legislation is next expected to head to the State Senate.
Democratic State Rep. Steve Stafstrom, who represents Bridgeport, said the bill would help prevent the sale of handguns easily modified with an aftermarket part popularly known as a switch. The part allows a semi-automatic handgun to be fired like a machine gun.
“The modified firearm switch was involved in a murder of a 20-year-old Harford woman and her 4-year-old son,” Stafstrom said.
Gun control advocates praised the passage of the bill in the state house, while Republican state lawmakers took issue with what they characterized as weaknesses in the bill.
GOP lawmakers highlighted how easy it would be for someone to figure out another way to convert handguns into fully automatic machine pistols.
The bill would mostly impact pistols manufactured by Glock, which gun advocates have criticized for continuing to sell handgun models with a design making it easier for people to modify with a switch.
Under the bill, background checks would be required for those who want to buy unfinished lower frames and/or receivers, gun parts housing the trigger mechanism of a firearm.
The bill would also ban ghost guns. The homemade unserialized, untraceable firearms are created with a 3D printer and use unfinished lower frames.
Stafstrom says the bill will not target lawfully-abiding gun owners.
“No gun is going to be confiscated,” Stafstrom said. “I repeat, no gun is going to be confiscated and no one, no one in Connecticut, is going to be prohibited from possessing an existing Glock pistol or other convertible pistol.”
Several other states, including New York, have enacted similar gun laws, according to Stafstrom.
However, Republican State Rep. Greg Howard, who represents Ledyard, Stonington and North Stonington, is among GOP state lawmakers who criticized the bill for potentially harming law-abiding gun owners.
State Republicans also say the bill is impractical, noting the proliferation of 3D printers, easily capable of manufacturing switches, and human ingenuity in bypassing safeguards.
“Somebody somewhere is going to find a way to manufacture, design something that can overcome the reset cycle of a pistol and make it fully automatic,” Howard said.
Handguns manufactured by Glock are among the most popular types of handguns in America, according to NPR. But illegally modified handguns made to shoot fully automatically are increasingly used in criminal activity, according to the Associated Press.
But other gun control advocates like Alissa Dumont, a volunteer with Everytown for Gun Safety, praised the passage of the bill in the State House.
“By passing this bill, the House is telling the gun industry that so long as they refuse to fix these dangerous designs to prevent easy conversion, they can no longer profit at the expense of our lives,” Dumont said. “We look forward to the Senate swiftly passing this bill to make Connecticut the third state to lead on this issue and put pressure on these manufacturers to address this threat.”
