A Connecticut state lawmaker is pushing legislation that could make the names of about 170,000 handgun permit holders public, a proposal critics say would pit gun owners against control advocates.
According to the
Hartford Courant, state Rep. Stephen D. Dargan, a Democrat who co-chairs the legislature’s public safety committee, has already introduced the measure and if passed it would allow public access through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the names and addresses of permit holders, which are now protected by state law.
The state’s General Assembly is scheduled open its 2013 session next Wednesday and gun control issues are expected to dominate lawmakers' attention in reaction to the Dec. 14 mass shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School that killed 20 children and six adults.
"Most things are FOI-able now. Go to the local city clerk's office and you can find out where Steve Dargan owns property," Dargan told the Courant in defense of his bill. "I don't know why a responsible gun owner is worried about whether a permit for a revolver is FOI-able or not."
Gun advocates disagree, arguing that criminals could use such lists to target homes where firearms are kept.
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