CT Gov. Lamont: Increase age to buy guns to 21, require registration of assault weapons

Just days after mass shootings in California, Gov. Ned Lamont introduced new measures Thursday as part of a comprehensive gun control package Thursday in an attempt to deter similar shootings.

In addition to a group of proposals unveiled Monday, including banning open carry, requiring registration of ghost guns and limiting handgun purchases to one per month, Lamont called for preventing anyone under 21 from buying any gun, requiring registration of previously grandfathered assault weapons and increasing penalties regarding large-capacity magazines.

Another round of proposals will be released in the coming days.

The proposals Thursday include:

Allowing gun purchases only for 21 and older

Currently, those 18 and older are allowed to purchase rifles or so-called long guns while handguns are limited to those 21 and older.

Under Lamont’s plan, no one could buy any type of gun under the age of 21. Those under the age of 21 could still use guns under various laws, but they could not purchase any gun.

Assault weapon registration

Amid controversy from gun owners, the state legislature passed an assault weapons ban in 1994 and then updated it in 2013 after the shootings that killed 20 schoolchildren and six educators at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.

Lamont’s proposal calls for the registration of assault weapons that had been grandfathered in the past. Since the weapons currently do not need to be registered, state officials said they do not know how many there are in Connecticut.

“There is no number,’' said Marc Pelka, a high-level supervisor in Lamont’s budget office. “The pre-1994 assault weapons do not have to be registered. They are permitted in the state of Connecticut. That might shock the residents of the state.’'

Increased penalties and fines

Advocates and lawmakers scoffed Thursday that the current fine for a first offense of possessing a large-capacity magazine illegally is only $90.

The legislature banned all large-capacity magazines in 2013 and required those who already owned one to register it.

Now, the owners have had almost a decade to register their magazines, and some still have not done that. As a result, Lamont is calling for dropping the $90 fine, and instead charging the owners with a Class D felony in an attempt to increase enforcement.

Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com