Sen. Bye and Rep. Godfrey Attack The Poor In CT

CT State Senator Beth Bye and Rep. Bob Godfrey 's recently introduced an anti-gun bill,  HB5268, (http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/CGABillStatus/CGAbillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&bill_num=HB5268) to ostensibly prevent gun violence - however what it really translates into is an attack on lower income gun owners who live in CT.  

A recent report was published by the State of CT that showed the number of permit holders in each city and town in CT.  The statistics already show that less than 3.3% of residents in these urban areas legally hold CT Pistol Permits.  It is certain that with the introduction of costly consumer regulation for these citizens that these numbers will fall even lower and place these families at a higher risk of becoming victims of crime, or simply turn them into illegal gun owners.

City/Town	# of Permits	Population	Percent
Bridgeport	4031	144229	2.8
New Haven	2061	129779	1.6
Hartford	1912	124775	1.5
Stamford	3098	122643	2.5
Waterbury	3372	110366	3.1
Norwalk	2768	85603	3.2
Danbury	2170	80893	2.7
New Britain	2267	73206	3.1

The percentage of permit holders in the suburbs and rural areas is much higher, and in some places as high as 13.5% of the population. 

By introducing a bill which would tax ammunition at 50% and require firearm owners to maintain liability insurance, they are essentially making it economically impossible for lower income people in the inner cities to own firearms legally. With all of the gun crime that is prevalent in the inner cities of CT it is shameful that these two legislators would collaborate to put economic barriers forth which would make it incredibly burdensome for inner city lower income families to protect themselves from the rampant crime that plagues their neighborhoods.  Criminals will not obey these laws, and those who no longer will be able to afford to keep a legal firearm because of these laws will be at their mercy.

Being poor in the urban cities of CT often times means that you are trapped living and working in crime  ridden and drug and gang infested areas. It also means that even the most basic firearm restrictions disproportionately prevent you from having legal access to even basic self defense firearms that  you  might need to defend yourself and your family living in those dangerous neighborhoods.  With decreased police patrols or longer response times to 911 calls in some of these areas, it is essential for lower income families to have the means to protect themselves and their property.  Bills like the one proposed by Sen. Bye and Rep. Godfrey  mean that you will have to choose yet again what percent of your salary you will have to give up in order to pay the higher premiums these legislators propose to place on gun ownership.  It should be noted that any non-lawful discharge by an insured person would not be honored by any policy, so the very rare occurrence that the insurance would allegedly protect against wouldn't be of any value to the policy holder. It should also be noted that both higher taxation on ammunition and the requirement of liability insurance would do nothing to curb gun violence.

The disproportionate impact of firearm restrictions like these proposed on lower income families is quite clear.  The fight for Second Amendment rights is not exclusive to the middle class or the wealthy. Many who struggle economically also legally own firearms in the state of CT and this type of legislation is a major assault on these people who also unfortunately live with crime day in and day out. To deprive these people of the right to bear arms because of the economic roadblocks that legislation like this imposes, is extremely unsafe and cruelly unfair.  

With this legislation, it is apparent that Sen. Bye and Rep. Godfrey seek to punish all legal gun owners, and especially lower income gun owners, while making insurance companies and the State of CT rich, and at the same time do absolutely nothing to address gun violence anywhere in CT.