Gun safety laws take the spotlight

Parents of teen who accidentally shot himself testify at state Capitol

HARTFORD — Ethan Song would likely still be alive if the state had more stringent laws requiring the safe storage of firearms, his parents told lawmakers on Monday.

During emotional testimony on gunrelated bills, Michael and Kristin Song said that while their 15-year-old son has been dead for over a year, tougher laws and awareness would likely save the lives of others in the future.

“Yes, better education would have saved my son’s life,” said Michael Song, who with his wife, Kristin, were the first to testify before the Judiciary Committee, which is considering a variety of gun-safety legislation.

Kristin Song, among dozens of activists wearing orange in honor of the teen, read a remembrance of her son, written in his voice, enjoying the removal of the braces from his teeth, celebrating the music of Jimi Hendrix, looking forward to a life as a student, friend, brother, and father.

She slammed the table in the Legislative Office Building meeting room to imitate the sound of a gun firing. Continuing in Ethan’s voice, she voiced his surprise at a bullet being in the weapon, as his life ebbed away. “Oh my God. What did I do? How did a bullet get in the gun? Who loaded the gun? I’m trying to breathe but there’s so much blood. I’m choking on it. I want to live. I want to live. I feel my body slowly shutting down.”

Kristin Song started a 15-minute appearance before the committee detailing a smiling photo after the final visit to the orthodontist. It would be the last picture taken of the boy, who later went out for an hour-long visit with a friend, but shot himself with a .357 handgun allegedly owned by Daniel Markle, whom the family is suing in state Superior Court.

“We walked to my friend’s house because his dad had guns,” Kristin Song said.

“His dad was awesome. He let me handle and shoot his guns in the backyard. My friend and I had been playing, posing, making videos with the guns for the last six months. We were posting on our fake social media accounts. I didn’t want my family to see. I mean, what is cooler than a teenager with a gun. Every time we posed we get a ton of likes. Hey guns were making us popular.”

Under the proposed legislation, even unloaded guns would have to have trigger locks or be kept in a gun locker, as required now for loaded weapons. Gun owners could be held criminal liable for injuries or deaths.

The committee reacted mostly in stunned silence to the Songs.

“I think there’s a component missing from this language,” said Rep. Craig Fishbein, R-Wallingford, a conservative who dissected the proposal and said “that things can happen in other people’s houses.” Rep. Doug Dubitsky, R-Chaplin, another conservative who, like Fishbein, pushed back on several gun-related issues Monday, said that education is a key.

Dubitsky asked whether Ethan Song had firearms training.

“We worked so hard to keep our kids safe, everything from seat belts to every imaginable thing,” Michael Song said. “The one thing I probably spoke to Ethan the most about was gun safety. We weren’t gun owners. The sad thing about this case was that he did have gun education, from the parent in the house where he died.”

Scott Wilson, president of the firearms-rights organization called the Connecticut Citizens Defense League, said lawmakers had the chance to strengthen the laws on locking guns back in 1990, but failed. he said the group does not support the bill as written.

“We recognize that parents have an obligation to protect children, but we also must recognize that they cannot be with children in every circumstance,” Wilson said in written testimony.

The committee’s daylong hearing on firearms featured a variety of legislation. Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim and Police Chief Armando Perez spoke in favor of a bill that would allow law enforcement officials to ask to see the permits of people carrying handguns.

Current law, illustrated in a controversial case in a Bridgeport sandwich shop nearly three years ago, prohibits police from asking to see the permits of those carrying guns.

Perez said he believes that in the sandwich shop altercation, Dontrell Brown, tried to provoke police, “to create a problem.” The incident in downtown Bridgeport, near state Superior Court, could have easily been defused if Brown had simply shown his permit to responding officers, Perez said, stressing that he believes gun owners should bear the responsibility of providing their permit when asked.

“You’re not detaining the guy. You’re not denying any civil rights,” Perez said. “You’re protecting those rights of other individuals that are around that individual that may be afraid, that may be scared. That may be alarmed. We live in a society where anything can happen at any time.”

Hundreds of people attended the hearing, and about 90 registered to speak. The committee’s deadline to pass legislation is April 12.

Ethan Song