Connecticut Gun Law: Why Maynard Said No & Urban Said Yes

Patch editor Davis Dunavin contributed to this report.

On Thursday, after  legislation passed Connecticut's General Assembly in the early morning hours, Gov. Dannel Malloy signed the bill into law, giving Connecticut sweeping new gun laws that include expanded bans on high-powered weapons, high-capacity magazines and universal background checks.

"In some sense, I hope this is an example to the rest of the nation," he said. "Certainly to our leaders in Washington, who seem so deeply divided on an issue like universal background checks, when the country is not divided itself."

"We can never undo the tragedy that happened Dec. 14," said Malloy. "But we can make Connecticut towns and cities safer, and this bill does that."

Stonington’s two representatives in Hartford, Rep. Diana Urban and Sen. Andrew Maynard, are both Democrats but they did not vote the same on this bill. Urban voted in favor, while Maynard was opposed.

“I truly believe we have made our families and children a little bit safer,” Urban said. “When I think about those kids that got by (Adam Lanza) because the weapon jammed. Those 6 or 7 kids because the weapon jammed and he was trying to reload. Now we know someone won’t have a 30-clip magazine. He would have a 10-clip magazine. So maybe 3 more kids would get by."

Maynard said when the session began and talk of gun laws began, “I had fairly strong feelings that going in the direction of some tighter restrictions was fine.”
But as he talked with and heard from constituents, he began to change his mind.

“There was an awful lot of very thoughtful testimony offered up,” he said. “I spoke to literally hundreds of people. I had over 600 emails from the district alone, plus all over the state. Of those, 15-1 were very concerned about how far this bill would go in restricting the rights of law abiding gun owners. ... The emotional side of you said ‘But this incredibly horrifying thing happened and don’t we need to do something?’ ... I don’t dismiss the horror and fear and anguish. I just don’t think you make very good policy when that is pushing you along.”

But Maynard said he ultimately decided to vote against the bill because he found it deeply flawed and not well thought-out.

"At the end of this whole long discussion and review, seeing how little positive benefit was coming out of it and how many new and frankly unworkable aspects there were in the bill, I just couldn’t" vote in favor, Maynard said. "There was too little positive, ... and a fair amount of negative. The school mandates will be punishing on our communities. It will cost many millions of dollars to the state. And I am not sure we are an ounce safer."

Malloy said he has set Aug. 1 as a deadline for the structures within the bill to be put in place, saying he met with law enforcement officials Thursday morning to discuss a time frame.

The law:

• Expands the existing Connecticut Assault Weapons Ban to include more high-powered weapons
• Bans the sale of high-capacity magazines and requires registration for those who currently own high-capacity magazines
• Establishes universal background checks for firearms
• Sets up a "dangerous weapon offender" registry

In addition, the bill contains many mental health and school security provisions, including:

• Creating a task force to study mental health among Connecticut's young adults
• Allowing Boards of Educations to institute in-service mental health training
• Requiring schools to develop safety plans
• Establishing a council to develop safety standards for new school building projects

Click here for full text of the bill.

Urban said the new law is not a cure-all, but it helps.

"I know that we will never 100 percent be able to solve this," she said Thursday morning. "I get it that all these gun laws will not stop another Sandy Hook or Columbine. We know that. We know that there are things that are out of  our control.

"I know there are great guys in my district who hunt and who are gun enthusiasts. I know this is a pain for them and they have to go the extra mile," she said. "I get it. But there are things I have to do too. We all do. In society, there are rules  — sometimes we don’t like them. I know we put the extra burden on them but I believe this will make our families and our children a little bit safer. If they have to take that extra burden I thank them for doing it."

Previous coverage: 
General Assembly Passes Gun Bill In Late Night Session
Do You Feel Connecticut's Gun Laws Have Made You Safer?
Should Connecticut Ban High-Capacity Magazines?