A total of 61 fail private gun sale background checks

WASHINGTON — As Congress continues to ponder expansion of background checks to include private gun transactions, Connecticut is reporting denials of 61 such purchases under state law that requires checks on all sales — even between individuals.

The number, obtained from the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection by Hearst Connecticut Media under a freedomofinformation request, is not large.

Since the state legislature in 2013 toughened gun laws in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting, State Police have handled 200,000 background checks involving private transactions — defined as sales by individuals at gun shows or elsewhere who do not make their living primarilyselling guns. Those who do must obtain a federal license from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Although debate over expanding background checks has ground to a halt in a Congress, now consumed by the potential impeachment of President Donald Trump, the question of whether such a law would be effective and reduce gun violence remains a prime issue.

In that regard, Connecticut may be a kind of proving ground.

“What it shows is we have prevented 61 people from killing themselves or committing heinous crimes,” said Jeremy Stein, executive director of CT Against Gun Violence. “One person being denied a gun because of mental illness or felony conviction is proof enough that the law is working. The percentage doesn’t matter if we’re saving even one life.”

Connecticut ranks fifth among states for lowest percapita rate of gun homicides, according to data for 2017 gathered by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Advocates of the state’s tough postNewtown set of gun control laws regularly point to background checks on private transactions as an element of success in preventing gun violence.

Other elements include the state assault weapons ban, the “red flag” statute that temporarily takes guns away from troubled individuals, and the requirement that prospective gun owners have stateapproved permits to buy firearms.

To buy a gun in the first place, gun owners in Connecticut must have either a handgun permit or an eligibility certificate. An eligibility permit is “like a driver’s license,” said state police Sgt. Alex Giannone, supervisor of the department’s special licensing and firearms unit.

An individual must go through a background check in order to obtain the certificate. And any subsequent purchase of a firearm requires yet another background check.

Obtaining a pistol permit is a twostep process. First, an individual must obtain a temporary permit from a local city hall, first selectman’s office or police department, and pass the NRA’s “basic pistol course,” which covers gun safety. Then the individual must apply for a stateissued pistol permit.

Again, a background check is conducted before a permit is issued and then when the individual wants to purchase a weapon.

Federally licensed dealers must conduct background checks on all such transactions. But in Connecticut, unlike most other states, private sellers must also get background checks done on prospective buyers — checks often done for them by licensed dealers.

Under federal law, purchasers are prohibited if they are a felon, fugitive, a “mental defective” (as defined in law) or have a permanent restraining order issued against them. Other criteria include being a drug addict, living in the U.S. illegally or being dishonorably discharged from military service.

In its law, Connecticut adds 11 new categories that impact private purchasers. Among them are misdemeanorlevel inciting a riot, putting a minor at risk of injury, or assault on a person over 60.

Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection records show that so far in 2019, two individuals were denied private purchases because of a combination of drug or alcohol abuse and adjudication as a “mental defective.” Another one was denied because of pending criminal charges.

State officials said that under law, they could not divulge the circumstances surrounding the denials.

Connecticut’s law regarding background checks for private transactions is among the toughest in the nation. Only New Jersey has a comparable law, said Lindsay Nichols, federal policy director at the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Maryland and New York, for instance, have the same requirements for handguns but not for rifles and shotguns, she said.

Gun rights advocates in Connecticut take a dim view of the postNewtown laws, including the one governing background checks on private transactions.

“What politicians should come to terms with is the fact that the majority of crimes involving firearms (are from criminals using) stolen and strawpurchased firearms,” said Scott Wilson, president of the Connecticut Citizens Defense League. “The record of prosecution for those who steal or possess firearms illegally in the first place is abysmal.

“It is unconscionable that numerous criminal charges are never prosecuted, while at the same time lawmakers seek to pass laws that will likely impact persons who are otherwise law abiding.

“Maybe if actual crimes with firearms are prosecuted,” he said, “there would be less incentive to commit those crimes."

But Connecticut’s senators, both deeply involved in the push on Capitol Hill for expanding background checks to include private purchases, say that the number of denials in Connecticut illustrates the need for such a law nationally.

“It’s working effectively as a deterrent, so people who are aware they will be denied buy guns elsewhere,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal in an interview. “Connecticut has some of the strongest gunviolence prevention laws in the country, but we are at the mercy of the states with the weakest.”

“The evidence is pretty clear, background checks work,” said Sen. Chris Murphy in a statement. “We have the potential to save lives if we prevent even one person from purchasing a gun who is prohibited under law. Connecticut has been leading on this for decades now and it’s time for us to do this at the national level.”