Hartford, CT – As the tenth anniversary of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown approaches later this week, Governor Ned Lamont is saying that not enough has been done to prevent tragedy like the one that occurred on December 14, 2012, and he is calling on federal and state lawmakers to take long-needed and overdue actions on gun violence prevention.

“The overwhelming majority of Americans support sensible measures on gun safety, and while we’ve implemented many commonsense reforms in Connecticut, time and again we’ve seen the influence of powerful lobbyists from the NRA blocking these actions in Congress,” Governor Lamont said. “I am proud that Connecticut is leading on gun violence prevention, but the fact of the matter is that guns are crossing state borders every single day, and a patchwork of gun safety laws in each individual state is not the solution. As we’ve shown in Connecticut, we can implement laws that respect the rights of Americans to own guns for their own protection and sportsmanship while also acknowledging that firearm companies are manufacturing and selling guns that have the sole purpose of killing the largest number of humans within the shortest amount of time. We can do more – both on the state and federal levels – to prevent gun violence.”

Governor Lamont said that during the Connecticut General Assembly’s upcoming 2023 regular session, he plans on proposing legislation similar to the bill he introduced during the 2022 session. That proposal closes loopholes in the assault weapons ban, makes it easier for police to confiscate dangerous ghost guns, protects residents in sensitive locations, and helps stop illegal guns from driving community gun violence.