Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy is preparing an executive order that will prohibit anyone on any of the terror watch list, including the no-fly list, from purchasing a firearm. I’m not sure how the Governor thinks he has the power to do this, considering Connecticut’s law on the matter is pretty clear:
(b) The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall issue an eligibility certificate unless said commissioner finds that the applicant: (1) Has failed to successfully complete a course approved by the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection in the safety and use of pistols and revolvers including, but not limited to, a safety or training course in the use of pistols and revolvers available to the public offered by a law enforcement agency, a private or public educational institution or a firearms training school, utilizing instructors certified by the National Rifle Association or the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and a safety or training course in the use of pistols or revolvers conducted by an instructor certified by the state or the National Rifle Association; (2) has been convicted of a felony or of a violation of subsection (c) of section 21a-279 or section 53a-58, 53a-61, 53a-61a, 53a-62, 53a-63, 53a-96, 53a-175, 53a-176, 53a-178 or 53a-181d; (3) has been convicted as delinquent for the commission of a serious juvenile offense, as defined in section 46b-120; (4) has been discharged from custody within the preceding twenty years after having been found not guilty of a crime by reason of mental disease or defect pursuant to section 53a-13; (5) (A) has been confined in a hospital for persons with psychiatric disabilities, as defined in section 17a-495, within the preceding sixty months by order of a probate court; or (B) has been voluntarily admitted on or after October 1, 2013, to a hospital for persons with psychiatric disabilities, as defined in section 17a-495, within the preceding six months for care and treatment of a psychiatric disability and not solely for being an alcohol-dependent person or a drug-dependent person as those terms are defined in section 17a-680, (6) is subject to a restraining or protective order issued by a court in a case involving the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force against another person; (7) is subject to a firearms seizure order issued pursuant to subsection (d) of section 29-38c after notice and hearing; (8) is prohibited from shipping, transporting, possessing or receiving a firearm pursuant to 18 USC 922(g)(4); or (9) is an alien illegally or unlawfully in the United States.
Emphasis is mine. What isn’t in there? A presence on any “terror watch lists.” If anyone in CT is denied an Eligibility Certificate for reason of presence on any of these lists, they should immediately get in contact with the NRA.
Wow, I had not even considered the fact that it might not be legally possible for Malloy to require that. I know that the watch list contents are not available to states or individuals. I wonder how they will get around that. That might open up a can of worms for Obama, because if CT can get it, why can’t others?
Wouldn’t surprise me if the DC Gang convinced Malloy to back off because “time to federal civil rights lawsuit” will be measured in nanoseconds for the first person denied a purchase because of being on a sooper secret list, and discovery in that suit will entail making the entire list available.
Given the “shall issue” phrase in the CT law, it might be attempted to confine the suit to the CT courts, but a really smart and industrious lawyer (“paging Alan Gura….”) could easily find a way to go fed courts with it under 2A since it’s a fed dot gov list.
Now that I’ve had coffee, and time for reflection, I’m wondering if Malloy’s action hasn’t been encouraged by Some Folks In Washington as a “test the waters” scenario just to see what happens on a smaller playing field before going national with it.
On the upside, this should rush a Due Process challenge for using the lists through the courts.
Hey, if you are going to illegally deny someone their Second Amendment rights you might as well go full fascist dictator and do it with an illegal “executive order”. If he does this then the terrorists win.
Ummm…how the hell will Connecticut know who is on the list??? Seems like no one else does. You go to buy your ticket and “boom”…that’s how you find out you’re on the list. For this to work Connecticut’s or the FEDS background check system would have to be tied in to the no fly list. Not gonna happen. Political theater.
(I should add…not gonna happen on the state level. If the Feds think they can get away with it…yeah…)
Even if Malloy is found to be in violation of the law by the CT courts, the end result will be: nothing. He won’t be penalized, charged with a crime, or otherwise impeached. And just to get to that point, anyone with standing will have to spend lots of money and time to get their rights restored, with no change in process for the next guy or gal who comes along.
In doing this, the CT government is essentially signaling that they a) no longer respect the law, and b) fully plan on playing a game of attrition with their citizens. It’s not unlike what the Philly Gun Permit Unit does to almost every single one of its applicants; despite multiple complaints and lawsuits, they never change because they know they don’t have to.