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Rumors have run rampant that a new Connecticut law demanding registration of a wide range of guns and firearms components is just a prelude to gun confiscation.
And viewers of a new National Rifle Association video on the dispute probably will not find themselves reassured.
For although it contains a statement from state police officials that the gun registration program – which created a looming crisis because an estimated 350,000 people refused to register – will not be followed by confiscation, critics don’t believe it.
“I can see a riot happening here. It’s not going to be a pretty picture,” said security company owner Alaina Matheny in the new video.
As WND reported, the law had an April 15 deadline for owners to register certain weapons considered by the state to be “assault” weapons.
The 350,000 who haven’t registered now could be considered felons, although they have not been charged or convicted.
In Connecticut, there was no grandfathering for people who already possessed the weapons. Branford resident John Cinque challenged two of the members of the legislature, state Sen. Leonard Fasano and state Rep. Dave Yaccarino, both Republicans.
“I tell everybody I’m not complying,” Cinque said. “I can’t – you have to be willing to stand up and say no. And there are a lot of us who are going to say no.”
An ABC affiliate reported the resistance now has spread to New York.
The report said the NY2A Grassroots Coalition recently met in Saratoga Springs, inviting the public to burn registration forms. The report said members of the coalition handed out copies of the “assault” gun registration form and burned them on an outdoor grill.
Jake Palmateer, a spokesman for the group, said, “It was just simply a statement to say that look this is an egregious attack on our civil rights.”
The NRA video explains the state law created “a new class of criminals” who are “nothing more than honest, law-abiding citizens.”
Jack Mibal, a gun owner in the state, said lawmakers, in adopting the law, violated their oath of office.
“Now your name is on a list. What comes next?”
Lt. Paul Vance of the state police tried to reassure citizens, because even though their names now are on a list as gun owners, “It’s strictly secure.”
“For anyone to say we’re going door to door to seize weapons is just wrong,” he insisted.
Critics, however, were blunt: “I think that this registration is the start of confiscation.”
It was in April 2013 that Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy, in a response to the Sandy Hook school shooting, signed into law a sweeping ban on “large classes of firearms and magazines.”
WND reported a candidate to represent Georgia in the U.S. Senate later issued a warning to middle-class America about Washington’s plans to control guns.
“They want to know who you are, what you have, and they want to know where you live,” said Derrick E. Grayson, a Republican running to succeed Saxby Chambliss.
His comments appeared on a video that was posted online a few weeks ago but recently has started getting attention.
Grayson said he knows Americans are struggling and hurting.
“Despite all the promises by our elected officials, career politicians, and so-called leaders, many people all across this great nation are finding it more and more difficult to cope with the various challenges brought about by out of touch politicians,” he wrote on his campaign website. “The erosion of personal freedom and liberty as a result of federal policy and legislation is alarming.”
But in his “drive time” video, he explains his view of the constitutional guarantee that individuals can keep and bear arms.
“The Second Amendment is not about hunting,” he said. “It is about protecting ourselves from a tyrannical government.
“Make no mistake about it. Gun control is not about crook control. It’s about America control. That’s what they want to do,” he said.
If gun control worked, he suggested, Chicago wouldn’t be a “war zone.”
Connecticut, which recently adopted additional restrictions on long guns and ammunition magazines, he said, should do what Colorado voters did – throw out of office some of the politicians who worked to undermine the Second Amendment.
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Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, denounced the gun control plans.
“The revolt is under way. Tens of thousands of people in Connecticut have intentionally missed the deadline. They are not registering. Some of them actually said they would not when they were at the hearing when the law was being considered in the legislature,” he said.
Listen to the WND/Radio America interview with Larry Pratt:
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The Washington Times editorialized that Connecticut legislators “must come to grips” with the fact that “laws are more than just symbolic gestures.
“If it’s really serious, the state will have to find space to imprison 300,000 residents for the next five years,” the newspaper said. “Faced with 300,000 potential offenders, officials must decide whether to ignore the new law, or enforce it by sending SWAT teams to raid the homes of anyone suspected of owning the most popular rifle in America, the AR-15.”
Some lawmakers have made huge gaffes displaying their lack of knowledge of guns.
Rep. Diane DeGette, D-Colo., for example, was advocating a ban on ordinary gun magazines above a certain capacity when she showed fellow lawmakers didn’t really know what a magazine was.
“I will tell you these are ammunition, they’re bullets, so the people who have those now they’re going to shoot them; so if you ban them in the future, the number of these high capacity magazines is going to decrease dramatically over time because the bullets will have been shot, and there won’t be any more available,” she said.
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