Connecticut's new gun control law says gun owners who failed to register their now-banned assault weapons by a January deadline face a misdemeanor charge, not a felony as described by Republican governor candidate Tom Foley in Wednesday night's debate.
The law, enacted after the 2012 Newtown school shooting, has become a major issue in the race between Foley, Democratic Governor Dannel P. Malloy and conservative petitioning candidate Joe Visconti, a gun rights advocate.
At Wednesday's debate, Foley called the legislation "overreaching," claiming it turns "perfectly good law-abiding citizens" into felons.
Michael Lawlor, Malloy's criminal justice adviser, said the owners of 66 assault weapons ultimately failed to register their grandfathered weapons in time for the deadline. They were notified they could relinquish the weapon to police or render it inoperable.
