"Ethan's Law" Passes First Hurdle - Easily - At General Assembly

GUILFORD, CT - "Ethan's Law," the safe storage gun law named after Guilford’s Ethan Song, easily made it past the first step of its trek to become law Wednesday, getting bipartisan support and making it through the Judiciary Committee.

The bill which would would require all firearms, loaded and unloaded, to be safely stored in homes occupied by minors under 18 years of age, now heads to the House.

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

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.”

Fifteen year old Ethan Song died of an accidental gunshot in January of 2018.

A juvenile friend of Ethan was charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death.

Patiently watching the debate and vote on the law was Ethan Song’s mother, Kristin, who had fought tirelessly since the death of her son for tougher gun laws and who captivated legislators with moving testimony last week imploring them to pass “Ethan’s Law.”

After the vote, Kristin Song called the bill’s passage a “bittersweet moment.”

“Of course I’m glad that the bill passed,” she said. “I think you can understand why it’s not exactly a happy feeling.”

Connecticut Against Gun Violence Executive Director Jeremy Stein, who sat with Kristin Song watching the debate and vote, said he was heartened by the fact that Republicans joined Democrats on the committee to support the bill.

"Obviously this could have easily passed with just the Democrats,” Stein said, “but it’s a good sign that it had support from both sides. We really need to come together as a state on these issues of gun safety.”

The bill passed with one change.

The change advocated for by the largest Second Amendment organization in Connecticut, the Connecticut Citizens Defense League (CCDL), says that safe gun laws “shall” be taught in school systems. Originally the language of the bill said “may” be taught.

Proponents of the bill said that change in language wasn’t hard to accept to get what they wanted overall - a chance for the House to debate, and hopefully vote on the safe storage law.
Committee member after committee member praised Kristin Song, and her husband Mike, for their advocacy on the issue.

“I want to thank you for taking your pain and doing something good with it,” Rep. Patricia Dillon, D-New Haven, told Kristin Song. “I wish we didn’t need this law.”

Rep. Steve Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, co-chair of the committee, said he hoped the bill “would encourage folks to consider safety, training and awareness” when it comes to gun storage safety.

Sen. Gennaro Bizzarro, R-New Britain, said he really “struggled” with his vote, but decided to vote yes.

“I sleep with my gun at my side,” Bizzarro said, to protect his family from any possible intruders. But, in the end, he went along with the majority and voted yes.

Not everyone voted in favor.

While also praising Kristin Song for her advocacy on behalf of her son, Sen. Rob Sampson, R-Wolcott said the bill has “one flaw.”

He said that flaw was “you must secure guns in a certain way.”

“I don’t believe we have a right to tell people what they should in their own homes,” Sampson said, adding in their own homes is what a gun owner’s right to “choose their own method” to secure a gun.

The bill was sponsored by each and every member of the shoreline delegation - both Democrats and Republicans.