Stricter laws, no guarantees

It’s tougher to buy guns in Connecticut

If the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter lived in Connecticut, he would likely have had fewer — if any — firearms, because the sales or importation of military-style weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines were prohibited after the 2012 Newtown school massacre.

The state’s 2013 gun-safety laws also required owners of semiautomatic weapons, such as the AR-15, who bought them prior to the school shooting to register

them. Now, even people who want to buy ammunition must have a firearms permit in a state that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rate as one of the top-five in the nation for gun safety.

Since the 1998 murders of four people shot dead by a co-worker in the Connecticut Lottery headquarters, weapons have been seized from 1,513 people under the state’s risk-warrant program, which allows concerned neighbors, employers, health care providers and family members to ask local

police to interview those who might harm themselves or others.

And before anyone can obtain a gun permit, they must sit for an interview with law enforcement officials who have the power to reject their application. In addition, those accused of domestic abuse who have been served with protective orders must turn in their weapons.

However, while Connecticut’s more restrictive gun laws might have prevented a massacre like the 11 people shot dead in the Temple of Life synagogue, it does not guarantee that such an incident couldn’t happen nearly six

years after the murders of 20 first graders and six adults in Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Per capita gun deaths

Massachusetts has the lowest rate of firearmsrelated deaths, with 3.4 per 100,000 population. Rhode Island, New York and Hawaii follow. Connecticut’s 4.6 deaths per 100,000 translated to 172 overall

deaths. Alaska had the highest total, at 23.3 per 100,000, the CDC reported.

The Ridgefield-based Connecticut Against Gun Violence said Monday that national studies indicate that Connecticut’s gunsafety laws are the thirdstrongest in the nation, behind California and New Jersey.

“We know gun laws work,” said Jeremy Stein, executive director of CAGV. “There have been major studies at Harvard and Johns Hopkins that show

the correlation between the strength of laws and lower death rates. Those states with the weakest laws have the highest death rates.”

Stein said that President Donald J. Trump’s proposal to arm people at religious institutions is unrealistic, in light of the fact that four trained, armed police officers, with the element of surprise on their side in Pittsburgh, were wounded by the synagogue shooter.

“They could not prevent themselves from almost being fatally wounded, and

how do you think a nonprofessional would deal with defending against an active shooter?” Stein said in a phone interview. “We know that, statistically speaking, more guns mean more gun deaths. Access to firearms is the common threat. It’s way too easy to get your hands on a gun.”

The accused gunman, Robert Bowers, was reported not to have a criminal record and to have obtained his firearms legally under Pennsylvania law.

Mark Oliva, manager of

public affairs in the Washington office of the Newtown-based National Shooting Sports Foundation, said Monday that the organization welcomes the spotlight on gun safety and Second Amendment rights.

“On behalf of the members of our industry, the National Shooting Sports Foundation has long advocated for effective solutions to prevent unauthorized access to firearms by criminals, the dangerously mentally ill, children and others who cannot be trusted

to handle firearms in a safe and responsible manner,” Oliva said in a statement. “The firearms industry welcomes participation in the national conversation to make our communities and our schools safer. We will continue to lead and participate in finding and enhancing practical solutions that protect lives and preserve the rights of law-abiding Americans.