‘Ethan’s (Song) Law’ Bill Gets It’s Hearing At State Capitol

GUILFORD, CT - Mike and Kristin Song, surrounded by an army of supporters, came up to the state Capitol on Monday to make their case to have Connecticut pass "Ethan's Law."

The law, named after their son Ethan, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot last year, would require the safe storage of all firearms, whether loaded or unloaded, in a home with a minor under 18 years of age.

The bill would allow prosecutors to charge the owner of a gun that isn’t properly stored.

"This is the last place I want to be," Mike Song said, referring to being in Hartford lobbying for a bill in the wake of his son's death. "But there needs to be consequences for not storing guns safely."

"Let's keep kids safe," said Mike Song.

The bill was crafted by Guilford Representative Sean Scanlon. All of the shoreline state legislators are sponsors of the bill, showing it has bipartisan support.

Connecticut’s current safe storage law only requires that loaded firearms be properly stored “if a minor is likely to gain access to the firearm without the permission of the parent or guardian of the minor.”

The legislation has also been introduced at the federal level by U.S. senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy. It would create federal requirements for safe gun storage, strong penalties for any violations, and incentives for states to pass their own safe gun storage laws.

Blumenthal said the only difference between the two bills is some language in the federal legislation involving grants and forfeiture issues. He added that he believes the Connecticut legislation “could become a model” for the rest of the states in the country to follow.

Ethan Song, 15, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his friend’s house on Jan. 31 of 2018. He accidentally shot himself in the head, the Waterbury state’s attorney’s office said after concluding its investigation.

A juvenile friend of Ethan was charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death.
After investigating the shooting, Waterbury State’s Attorney Maureen Platt did not bring charges against Daniel Markle, owner of the gun Ethan used to shoot himself.

“Mr. Song’s death was a tragic event in that he accidentally shot himself in the head with a .357 magnum handgun which was stored in a master bedroom closet at the location where he was shot,” Platt said in her report.

The boys regularly had played with three guns kept in a closet in Song’s neighbor’s house, Platt said.

Markle, owner of the house at 104 Seaside Ave. where Ethan was shot, kept three weapons in a cardboard box inside a large Tupperware container in the master bedroom closet, according to the report. Each gun was secured with a gun lock, the report said.

“In this case, there is no evidence that the gun owner knew that the juvenile had actual knowledge of where the guns were stored,” Platt wrote.

Michael and Kristin Song have become gun storage advocates since their son’s death.

The largest Second Amendment organization in Connecticut is not necessarily opposed to the legislation.

Connecticut Citizens Defense League President Scott Wilson said: "We have discussed the language regarding the current 'Safe Storage bill' with Representative Scanlon and other legislators, as well as the parents of Ethan Song. While we currently oppose the present language, we are hoping for changes to the bill that could help us ultimately support it."

Wilson added: “Nearly 30 years ago, the state Board of Education and the Connecticut Police Chief’s Association were granted the authority to develop and implement firearms education for school-aged children from Kindergarten through eighth-grade.”

“If Connecticut lawmakers are serious about reducing gun accidents, they should revisit the development of plan or implement one of several plans that already exist,” Wilson said.

“Currently the proposed law mostly calls for punitive action whereas our plan offers preventative safety measures that might actually protect children.”

Kristin and Michael Song have sued Markle and his business, Markle Investigations, claiming that Markle had failed to “properly store, keep and/or secure a gun on the premises when he knew or should have known that minors might gain access to the gun” and that he permitted unaccompanied minors on the premises, according to the Songs’ complaint.