A federal judge has upheld Connecticut’s recent package of gun legislation: “An Act Concerning Gun Violence Prevention and Children‟s Safety.” In a decision released today, U.S. District Judge Alfred V. Covello found that the Constitution State’s gun legislation was a constitutionally valid means of balancing gun rights and the State’s interest in promoting public safety. Judge Covello wrote “The court concludes that the legislation is constitutional. While the act burdens the plaintiffs’ Second Amendment rights, it is substantially related to the important governmental interest of public safety and crime control.” This despite concluding that . . .
“The firearms and magazines at issue are ‘in common use’ within the meaning of Heller and, presumably, used for lawful purposes”, the court found that it was “reasonably certain the prohibitions do not impose a substantial burden”, and thus that intermediate scrutiny was appropriate.
Much like the recent case regarding the NY SAFE Act (and while citing that case in his decision), Covello went ahead without hearing oral arguments, making his decision solely on the briefs submitted by the respective sides. The Connecticut Citizens’ Defense League, a plaintiff in the suit, indicated that “you can be sure we will be filing an appeal forthwith.”
The full text of the decision is available here. (pdf) [h/t: Travis]