Second Amendment advocates in Connecticut deserve a round of applause after a grassroots campaign was successful in stopping the town of Stratford from imposing new bans on carrying firearms on all town properties.
Stratford Mayor David Chess had called the proposal a "natural extension" of the prohibitions already in place at the local police station and in the town's schools, arguing it "made sense" to apply the same ban to Town Hall, the local Parks Department, and other town-owned properties.
But as Connecticut Public Radio reports, the proposal met with "fierce" pushback from gun owners and Second Amendment advocates, and was ultimately defeated by a unanimous vote of the town council at its October 13 meeting.
Lorenzo Whilby, the owner of Stratford Guns and Ammo, a firearms range and gun store, said the ordinance, which would have applied to all town property and not just buildings, was government overreach during the town council meeting.
“We should be able to protect ourselves in Stratford, not you guys trying to take our rights away from us,” Whilby said.
... Whilby wasn’t the only gun owner who spoke. Several others echoed similar complaints about the ordinance and many of them took offense at the town’s efforts, even as Connecticut already has some of the strictest gun laws in the country.
They include banning open carry of firearms, highly restricting the possession of assault weapons, and banning the sale of semi-automatic pistols which could be easily converted into fully automatic machine guns; that is now the subject of a lawsuit.
Chess said the town didn’t have any ulterior motives when it originally proposed the ordinance.
“The whole idea again is to protect our community, there is no other motive here,” Chess said.
Protect the community from who, exactly? Anyone intent on carrying out a targeted attack on town property isn't going to be stopped just because they're not allowed to carry there.
The proposed ordinance also had a carveout for individuals with valid carry licenses, which makes the whole idea even more of an exercise in virtue signaling. Connecticut doesn't allow for the open carry of firearms, and carrying on town property (or anywhere else in public) without a valid carry license is already against the law.
What was the point of this ordinance? My guess is that supporters were hoping that lawful gun carriers wouldn't read the fine print and realize that they could still bear arms in these locations, or be so confused by the language and the existing prohibitions in other locations that they would decide it wasn't worth the legal risk to carry.
Whatever the rationale, the ordinance was never going to stop someone with malicious intentions, and I'm heartened to see so many gun owners turn out in opposition to the ill-conceived plan.
This victory shows the power of grassroots activism, even in a state that's incredibly hostile to gun owners. Congratulations to the Second Amendment supporters in Stratford who showed up and spoke out against this ordinance, and in defense of their right to keep and bear arms. The town council chair says this ordinance won't be brought up again, but I have a feeling that gun owners in Stratford are still going to be keeping a close eye on the council's agenda going forward and will raise the alarm if there are any future attempts to infringe or intrude on their civil rights.
Editor’s Note: Grassroots activists across the country are doing everything they can to protect our Second Amendment rights and right to self-defense.
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