Mayors take on gun violence
Leaders from some of state’s biggest cities want crackdown on firearm crimes by repeat offenders
HARTFORD — One day after another mass shooting, this time at Michigan State University, Gov. Ned Lamont and big-city mayors called Tuesday for a more extensive crackdown on gun crimes by repeat offenders.
The mayors are focusing on a narrow set of criminals — often already convicted felons — who are responsible for a large share of the shootings in Hartford, Waterbury, Bridgeport and New Haven. If the repeat offenders remained behind bars longer, they would not be on the streets to commit more crimes, the mayors said.
Of those arrested in Hartford last year for shootings, 39% were on pretrial release, 14% on probation and 5% on parole, the mayors said. The situation is similar in Waterbury, where 40% of those arrested for shootings were on probation and 30% were on pretrial release.
“This is about saving lives,’’ said Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin. “We know this is only one piece of the puzzle, but it’s an important piece. It means there has to be serious consequences for serious firearm
offenses.’’
Bronin and fellow mayors gathered with Lamont near the historic Hall of the Flags section of the state Capitol in a show of force for their proposal. They were joined by multiple mothers from the cities who said they had lost their sons to gun violence. The wide-ranging coalition also includes the Hartford and Bridgeport police chiefs, along with prosecutors around the state.
Laquvia Jones, whose two sons were killed in New Haven in 2020 and 2023, said that the violence must stop.
“This needs to be in place to send a message that it’s not acceptable to be a violent offender,’’ Jones said. “We can’t keep living like this and losing our children.’’
Her son, Dashown Myers, died in a shooting at the age of 18 in 2020. Her other son, Dontae Myers, became the city’s first homicide victim of the year in January 2023.
The mayors joined together in a task force created by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, which represents all 169 cities and towns. The group is offering 10 proposals to stem gun violence, including forcing those with previous gun crimes to “post a higher percentage of their bond when arrested for a new serious firearm offense.’’ As a result, they would generally remain behind bars for a longer time.
They are also calling for expanding the definition of “serious firearm offense,’’ which would include possession of a “ghost’’ gun with no serial number, along with a high-capacity magazine or a stolen firearm.
The mayors said there should be special “gun courts,’’ which are dedicated dockets that would be created in courthouses in Waterbury, New Britain and Fairfield to concentrate on gun crimes at least two days each week. Hartford and New Haven already have dedicated dockets to prosecute gun cases.
Among other requests, the mayors are recommending that those convicted of criminal possession of a firearm — meaning a felon in possession of a gun — should serve a longer prison sentence.
Chief State’s Attorney Patrick Griffin, the state’s top prosecutor with 27 years of experience, said that both the shooters and the victims are often convicted felons.
“They are doing the shooting, and they are doing the dying in our cities year in and year out with a nauseating consistency,’’ Griffin said.
A criminal convicted of criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, he said, is “8,000% more likely to be arrested for a shooting compared to a person with no prior convictions.’’
Although at least 12 people spoke at a news conference, none of them were legislators — who are the ones needed to pass the recommendations into law.
The mayors declined to say whether they have strongly lobbied members of the Democratic-controlled judiciary committee, which is a crucial step for approving any gun proposals before they reach the full House of Representatives and Senate.
“I don’t think anyone is going to speculate on the chances of legislation,” Bronin said when asked by The Courant. “We look forward to working collaboratively with all legislators — both chambers, both parties.’’
Lamont could have packaged the ideas into a governor’s bill, but he did not.
“I think mainly because we have a high degree of confidence that we’re going to see significant bills along these lines coming out of the legislature, and I’ll be strongly supportive of that,’’ Lamont told reporters.
Lamont is also pushing for bills that would ban the open carrying of guns in public places and eliminate bulk purchasing of handguns. He is also pushing for mandating the registration of all ghost guns, which are handmade weapons that can be constructed with parts and instructions that are available over the internet or with 3D printers.
The news conference came less than 24 hours after the shootings at Michigan State University on Monday night, that led to the deaths of three students and left five others critically wounded.
Recent violence has also included a mass shooting in Monterey Park, Calif., that left 11 people dead and nine wounded at a ballroom dance studio east of downtown Los Angeles. The shooter, police said, was a 72-year-old man who later shot himself to death when his van was surrounded by Torrance officers not far from the initial shooting.
Lamont said he would not be deterred by potential lawsuits from gun rights advocates who have filed lawsuits in the past regarding assault weapons and other guns.
“I’m going to keep trying,’’ Lamont told reporters. “There could be out-of-state lawsuits and others trying to interrupt what we’re doing. Our gun safety laws work better than most other states in the country. We’ve got to do better . ... There is a very small, narrow group of people that we’ve got to make sure they’re not on the street causing damage and risk and violence to folks in their own community.’’