NRA references create debate in governor race

Hartford (AP) — A call to end references to the National Rifle Association in Connecticut’s statutes has ignited a sharp debate in the crowded 2018 governor’s race, with Republicans contending law-abiding gun owners are being maligned and Democrats arguing the state is legitimizing the gun-rights group.

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, who is exploring a possible run, this week picked a battle with the NRA by calling on the General Assembly and Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to remove references to the gun-rights organization from state statutes, including one requiring residents seeking a pistol permit to complete a training course with NRA-certified instructors or the state’s public safety agency.

“I am concerned that Connecticut is inadvertently supporting this organization, by providing it recognition in state statute,” Bronin said.

Malloy, who is not seeking re-election, sided with Bronin, his former legal counsel, on Thursday. Malloy said the various references to the NRA in state law are “a betrayal of the children we lost at Sandy Hook.” Twenty first graders and six educators were killed in the 2012 mass shooting at the Newtown elementary school. Malloy said it should be left up to local law enforcement to decide whether they want NRA-instructors teaching the training courses needed to qualify for a pistol permit.