Connecticut Gun Bill Will Allow Government To Seize Firearms Via Civil Restraining Orders

A Connecticut gun bill, which is expected to be signed into law by Governor Dan Malloy tomorrow, makes it a whole lot easier for the government to take your guns away.

The Connecticut gun control bill subjects all residents to temporary civil restraining orders, even if they have not committed any crime. Second Amendment rights activists largely feel the new law, created in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, infringes on a citizen’s right to due process.

“I do feel that essentially this is not a case of protection but a bill that is aimed getting guns out of people’s hands by whatever process necessary,” Connecticut State Senator Joe Markley said.

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The Connecticut State Senate passed the gun surrender bill 23 to 13, the Wall Street Journal reports. The temporary civil restraining order also passed the state house of representatives.

“We have a moral obligation to work to prevent needless tragedy and to make this the law,” Governor Malloy said.

Current Connecticut gun laws do not require a citizen to give up their firearms to authorities unless a “full restraining order” is issued by a judge. Those who support the legislation argue that because it can take up to 14 days for a full restraining order to be rendered after a temporary order is mandated, the possibility of a violent act occurring increases, the Blaze notes.

If Governor Malloy signs the temporary gun restraining order as expected, citizens would have just 24 hours to turn in their guns to the government or face legal consequences. Dictates in the Connecticut gun control bill also state a full hearing on the firearms surrender order must take place within seven days of the filing of the temporary restraining order.

The guns seized from Connecticut residents would not be returned until either a temporary or full restraining order expires or is withdrawn.

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Democrat Senator Mae Flexer supports the bill deemed a “gun grab” by Second Amendment activists.

“The right to live is more important to any other right we may have,” Senator Flexer said.

Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney appears to agree with his fellow Democrat. Looney believes any “possible inconvenience” to Connecticut gun owners is not more important than the “great danger” posed to domestic violence victims if their alleged abusers are allowed to possess firearms.

“That’s why this bill is exactly what we should be doing in this area,” Senator Looney said.

Many gun rights advocates fear the law will be manipulated by residents who are in a non-violent domestic dispute, such as a divorce or custody battle, or in a situation where one individual is harboring a personal or professional grudge against another individual.

If an angry ex-girlfriend claims a man has threatened her, a temporary civil restraining order could be issued and all of the man’s guns removed from his possession for a year — or longer. The duration of the restraining order is at the sole discretion of the judge, and there is no appeal process for the gun owner.

“I do believe we have to honor the Constitution, we have to honor the Second Amendment and we have to honor the rights of individuals,” Republican Senator Rob Kane said.

Connecticut Citizens Defense League, a gun rights organization, is vehemently opposed to the pending law. Group president Scott Wilson feels the state being able to seize guns from citizens who have not been charged with a crime is an infringement upon their Second Amendment rights.

“It is nothing but a backdoor method to force the surrender of firearms with no opportunity for a respondent of such an order to be heard prior to any surrender of legal property,” Wilson said in a media release.

What do you think about the Connecticut temporary civil restraining order? Is the bill a violation of Second Amendment rights and due process?

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