April 4, 2013

Rep. Case on vote against the anti-gun bill

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HARTFORD – State Rep. Jay Case, R-Winchester, joined 43 others, both Republicans and Democrats in the State House, in voting against an overreaching gun-control bill, saying it will create extra hurdles for gun owners who already obey the law.

The bill, S.B. 1160, was passed by the General Assembly early into the morning of April 4, and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed the bill later that day.

Rep. Case, whose constituency overwhelmingly voiced concerns over the bill, said even the process in which the anti-gun bill was pushed through the legislature warranted apprehension.

“The voters of the 63rd District called and e-mailed me, they stopped me in the store and they all said, ‘Jay, please do not support this bill,’” Rep. Case said. “When the bill hit the House floor, I voted on an amendment that would separate the gun portion from the mental health portion. The Democratic majority decided they didn’t like that – even if they had the votes to approve both bills – and they moved our state in a worse direction.”

While details of the bill were unraveled during the House and Senate discussions, lawmakers didn’t receive the 138-page bill until mere hours before the sessions convened. The emergency certification (e-cert) process took away the opportunity for the legislation to take its full course of action – including committee processes and public hearings.

“The e-cert process that we had to vote on – an all or none vote – undermines our democratic process and should be considered a disservice to the citizens of our state,” Rep. Case said.

Rep. Case said he supported some measures in the bill, mainly relating to mental health and school safety, but because of the ‘all or none’ vote, was unable to support it.

You can view the final version of the bill for yourself by clicking this link, although there could be amendments or changes made to the bill from the floor. You can read a summary of the bill by clicking here.

For a link to Frequently Asked Questions that you may have regarding the provisions of the bill- please click here.