— GOA issues open letter after first CT citizen has guns confiscated

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“The duty of every liberty-loving Connecticut citizen is to [take] up the mantle of defending his fellow citizens and the U.S. and Connecticut Constitutions, against attack from a lawless government.” — GOA Executive Director Larry Pratt, in an Open Letter to Connecticut citizens

The first arrest has now been made under the draconian Connecticut law that was passed last year in the aftermath of the Newtown shooting.

Earlier this month, Connecticut police arrested James Toigo and confiscated his “assault rifle” after he allegedly shot a squirrel in his yard.  Not only did police seize the rifle (and many magazines) from the 65-year old Toigo, they also confiscated several of his legally registered firearms.

James Toigo is not a murderer.  He has committed no violent crime.  He is a law-abiding citizen who has been victimized by the laws of his state.

But Mr. Toigo is not alone.  As many as 300,000 law-abiding gun owners have failed to comply with Connecticut’s updated gun registration requirements.  The new registry is an update of older registration requirements that were in place at the time of the tragic shooting.

The state’s largest newspaper, the Hartford Courant, has called for the arrest of the 300,000 non-complying gun owners.

“The bottom line is that the state must try to enforce the law,” the paper opined back in February.  “If you want to disobey the law, you should be prepared to face the consequences.”

And at least one top aide in the Governor’s administration, Michael P. Lawler, has indicated that the state will punish those who missed the registration deadline.

Rep. Stockman introduces bill to end registration and confiscation

Our great friend in Congress, Steve Stockman, has introduced H.R. 4380, a bill that would cut off federal Justice Department funds to any state which attempts to confiscate and register firearms.

H.R. 4380 would target any state that sets up a gun registry or establishes a system to confiscate guns from law-abiding citizens.  And any city, state or municipality that attempts such actions would suffer the loss of their federal Justice Department grants.

Will that be enough of a threat to make these gun-grabbing cities and states back off and respect the gun rights of their citizens?  We believe so.  Money is tight, and the loss of any federal funds has a dramatic impact on budgets.

Because this is a Congressional election year and because the recent special elections gave bloody noses to those who were on the side of gun control, we believe that many Congressmen who normally sit on the fence will see it makes good sense to support this very sensible and necessary legislation.

And, if we can get dozens of House members to cosponsor Stockman’s bill, it will make it much easier to add H.R. 4380 as an amendment to a must-pass government funding bill which is scheduled to be considered in September.

Gun Owners has received a lot of mail from our members who are very worried about this new trend of municipal gun confiscations.  We heard you, and we worked closely with Congressman Stockman’s office to develop this solution.

Now it is up to you to help us put the pressure directly on your Representative.

ACTION: (1) Please urge your Representative to cosponsor H.R. 4380, a bill that would cut off federal Justice Department funds to any state which attempts to confiscate and register firearms.

(2) Please make sure that you’re getting GOA’s snail mail alerts. These alerts contain postcards that are a central strategy to putting the heat on elected officials in the nation’s capital.

The mailing that is currently dropping contains GOA’s latest newsletter — plus, postcards supporting H.R. 4380 (the Gun Confiscation and Registration Prevention Act).