“Amid concerns about gun owners who failed in their last-minute attempts to register now-illegal assault weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines, lawmakers are considering granting an amnesty period for people who missed the registration deadline,” courant.com reports. “The comprehensive gun-control bill enacted last spring required owners of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines to register the guns and declare ownership of the magazine if they wished to keep them. About 50,000 assault weapons were registered last year, and close to 40,000 people declared possession of magazines – many of them doing so during the final days of December.” As TTAG reported, there’s been massive non-compliance with the registration requirement. According to Constitution State Republicans, that’s because the post office closed early on New Year’s eve . . .
But [Republican] legislative leaders in recent weeks have raised concerns with the governor’s office that some individuals who attempted to register their weapons were prevented from doing so as a result of early post office closings on New Year’s Eve.
“It had come to my attention and the attention of others that many people who were attempting in good faith to comply with the law…were not able to because of what I would argue were circumstances not under their control,” said Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, who said he has been in discussion with other lawmakers about a possible amnesty period for people who tried to register but failed to do so.
Post offices closed at noon on Dec. 31, and as a result, “many citizens” dropped their paperwork in the mail on Dec. 31, but had it returned because it was not postmarked until Jan. 2, said McKinney, who last week wrote a letter to the governor’s office asking them to process the applications postmarked Jan. 2.
The governor’s office responded Tuesday with a letter to legislative leaders in which they maintained the law prevents them from processing the late applications.
“We said, well, it’s too late,” said Michael Lawlor, Under Secretary for Criminal Justice and Policy Planning for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
Surely this “amnesty” would benefit the State’s gun grabbers, who could initiate confiscation with the sop “Hey, we gave them TWO CHANCES to register.” That’s pretty hard-core but one gets the sense that’s the mood amongst the antis.
Lawlor’s letter to legislators included guidelines for individuals whose late registrations were not processed: they can render the firearm or magazine inoperable, sell it to a licensed gun dealer, remove it from the state, or turn it over to law enforcement. Lawlor said the General Assembly must pass new legislation if the late applications are to be processed.
And what of the thousands if not tens of thousands who didn’t register? As I said back in August, the race to Ruby Ridge continues apace.