HARTFORD, Conn. -- The Sandy Hook Advisory Commission in its interim report, recommends mandatory background checks on the sale or transfer of all firearms, registration of all weapons and renewals of firearm permits and tough bans on assault weapons and magazines that go beyond what other groups are recommending.
Separately, the likelihood that the six Democratic and Republican leaders will come up with an agreement on comprehensive gun reform legislation this week with language ready for a vote next week is getting slimmer with one of the leaders characterizing such an outcome as "pretty ambitious" with Passover starting early next week and Good Friday at the end of the week.
This could put off a deal on the bill until April, but state Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney, D-New Haven, said it would still put them ahead of the regular committee process which the leaders ditched in favor of a negotiated emergency certified bill. The leaders will be back meeting on Tuesday.
The Republican House caucused the gun reform concepts Monday but a hard count is fluid until the language is more focused which continues to leave a deal uncertain.
As previously reported, the advisory commission recommends the state prohibit the possession, sale or transfer of any weapon that is capable of firing more than 10 rounds without reloading. This goes beyond what is being considered by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy or the Democratic leadership. Malloy has already said he would not approve such a ban.
The governor on Tuesday will be in Washington participating in a panel discussion on gun control sponsored by the Center for American Progress.
The Sandy Hook Advisory group said the definition of assault weapons "has allowed for cosmetic changes to military-style firearms that does not reduce their lethality but does allow them to be legally possessed. The commission believes that, defining an assault weapon by form rather than function has been ineffective."
The commission would ban the sale and possession of any magazine in excess of 10 rounds; ban the possession or sale of all armor-piercing and incendiary bullets, regardless of caliber; allow ammunition purchases only for registered firearms and limit the amount that can be bought at any given time.
In supporting its stand on banning the weapons, as well as the high capacity magazines, it reasoned that lethality "is correlated to capacity, a correlation borne out of not only in Sandy Hook Elementary School, but in other violent confrontations in and beyond Connecticut." In 35 mass slayings going back to 1984, all involved multiple magazines.
The commission says the discrepancy in permitting and registration makes straw purchases easier with 1.4 million registered firearms in the state and as many as 2 million unregistered, according to state police.
The advisory group also offers some suggestions for more secure schools, but put off an extensive review of enhancing mental health access, which it will now tackle as it continues to meet over the next year. Its final report will also include a reaction to the state's attorney investigation into the murders at Sandy Hook which is expected to be out this summer.
The legislation is in response to the massacre of 20 children and six educators on Dec. 14 at the school in Newtown.
One area of contention is the proposal to ban possession of any magazine in excess of 10 rounds, which sources confirm was being dropped from the proposed bill as of last week, although that could change. CT Against Gun Violence, the major organizing group lobbying for reforms, has said dropping it is unacceptable.
It is among the items recommended for inclusion by Malloy and a fight over it is one of the factors delaying an agreement. Discussion about issuing multiple emergency certified bills is now back to issuing only one, according to sources.
One of the groups fighting enhanced gun laws as unnecessary, the Connecticut Citizens Defense League, saw merit in the recommendations to enhance protections at the entrances to schools and in classrooms.
But Scott Wilson, executive director of the CCDL, said by emphasizing gun control, the commission failed to put forth "practical solutions that may save school children from future attacks."
"I am sure the members of this commission are honorable in their primary professions, but what else can one expect from a commission hand-picked by a governor who's main agenda is gun control," Wilson said.
Ron Pinciaro, executive director of CT Against Gun Violence, was happy with the recommendations as being consistent, for the most part, with those put out by Malloy and the Democrats on the gun subcommittee of the Sandy Hook Bipartisan Task Force on Gun Violence Prevention and Children's Safety. He said Connecticut should follow the lead of states that have already banned possession of magazines that accommodate more than 10 bullets.
"Where it was put into effect the world did not come to an end," Pinciaro said of regulations in New Jersey, Washington, D.C., California, New York and Hawaii.
The interim report also recommends registration, including a certificate of registration, for any firearms, which would be distinct from a permit to carry. For safety reasons the advisory group would require trigger locks be provided at the time of sale or transfer of weapons.
The group of 16 professionals with expertise in mental health issues, security or law enforcement, also made recommendations on school safety and behavioral health, and will expand on all three areas as they continue to review these items until the end of the year.
It issued the interim report to assist the legislative leaders but it was unclear how much influence it will have.
To make sure weapons do not fall into the hands of inappropriate people, it recommends that the state develop a best practices manual on such storage.
The murders were committed by Adam Lanza, 20, who used an AR-15 semiautomatic owned by his mother, with whom he resided.
It would also require gun clubs to report any negligent or reckless behavior with a firearm or illegal possession to the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection and local police.
The group also wants gun shows to receive a permit from the chief of police of chief elected official of a town as well as to inform state police.
It makes the point that its recommended rules should not be construed as a prohibition against the manufacture of these weapons and devices that are legal for sale and possession in other states. The gun manufacturers have said new bans could result in job losses or a move out of state.
On school safety, it recommends that all classroom in kindergarten through the twelfth grade be equipped with locking doors that can be locked from the inside and that all exterior doors be equipped with hardware capable of implementing a full perimeter lockdown.
It also wants to see a threat and risk assessment tool to allow for a uniform process for developing emergency response plans for the schools.
The commission, which Democratic Mayor Scott Jackson of Hamden chairs, said the state should develop an All-Hazards and Risk Assessment Security Recommendations tool that can be applied to all schools and day care center that would incorporate crime prevention in building design. It also wants a definitive analysis of whether or not to have a school resource officer.
It recommends that every school have a Safe School Plan and that there be close coordination with local first responders. "Hardening" schools against becoming targets will require additional support from the state, but it said Connecticut should come forward with a plan within a year.
As for the personnel in the schools, the commission would establish a training course for staff on security policies; identification of staff and visitors by a display of credentials and mandated background screening for all staff; a best practices for bullying and threat identification.
Copyright 2013 - New Haven Register, Conn.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
