Connecticut Gun Confiscation Law Will Not Be Enforced, Police Say
By Tyson F Jackson
Gun rights advocates have been up in arms (pun intended) over a new gun control law recently passed in Connecticut. The law, which is hugely controversial, requires that certain weapons be registered with the state. Gun owners who fail to comply with the registration must either get the guns out of the state, surrender their weapons, or face confiscation with a felony arrest. Opponents of the bill seem to have found support from an unlikely place.
Torrey Grimes, a retired twenty-five year police veteran, is the chairman of the Connecticut Peace Officers Association. He penned an open letter opposed to the legislation on behalf of his organization. The letter's defiant tone threatens that Connecticut police will not, "be party to the oppression of the people of the state by enforcing an unconstitutional law." Because Grimes is retired, he will have minimal repercussions for his stance on the bill."I believe in the Second Ammendment," Grimes said in a phone interview. "I took an oath to uphold the Constitution, and that comes before my duty to enforce an unconstitutional state law." Apparently Connecticut law enforcement agrees, as the letter already has over 250 signatures from police refusing to enforce the law.
Not everyone is happy to hear about the letter, however. One Hartford resident, a gun control advocate who asked to remain anonymous, had this to say, "I am outraged that the police would suggest that they do not have to enforce the law. Our elected officials have created legislation, and it is the cops' job to enforce it!"
There is no doubt that the situation is unique. It is not often that those charged to enforce the law refuse to do so, and the case raises a myriad of ethical and legal questions. John Porshboll, a lawyer who specializes in representing cops in disciplinary trouble with their departments, seemed supportive of the officers. "In every profession employees have the right to refuse to act against their personal beliefs. Law enforcement is no different. When these officers refuse to enforce this law, it is because they genuinely believe it to be in conflict with their oath. These guys are idealists, nearly every cop I know is."
What will happen moving forward remains unclear. Enforcement of the law would likely require sending law enforcement to the homes of known violators, but if the police refuse then state lawmakers may be forced to rethink the bill.
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Democrats Cleverly Defined
Martial Law...it's coming
Good guy with a gun gets bad guy with a gun....apparently the law makers in Connecticut would rather see the bad guy win.
The above article was posted almost ten years ago but has suddenly received a lot of interest in the last few weeks. For the life of me, I don't know why...
ReplyDeleteCan anyone explain?
Perhaps the Governor of Connecticut should read the following:
ReplyDeleteOver 56-million people have died because of gun control in the last century. Is there an identifiable trend? A common denominator? Sure! The victims were unarmed.
Perhaps the Governor of Connecticut is too dense to comprehend but that's the way it is with those who desire to control free people.