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Connecticut firearm storage law is part of U.S. House gun control package

Andrew Harnik
/
AP

A gun safety law first passed in Connecticut is part of a package of gun control bills being considered by the U.S. House on Wednesday.

Connecticut’s Ethan’s Law, passed in 2019, requires loaded and unloaded guns to be properly secured so that people under the age 18 cannot access them. It’s named for Ethan Song, a 15-year-old from Guilford. He was accidentally shot and killed with an unsecured gun at a friend’s house.

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) included a version of the law in the Protecting Our Kids Act gun safety package, which is nearing a vote in the House.

“This legislation is a child safety bill first and foremost — because losing just one child to gun violence is too many,” DeLauro said.

Ethan’s father Michael Song is optimistic that passing the bill in the House will put pressure on the Senate to take action, despite GOP opposition.

“Going to your son's funeral is just about the worst thing that you can imagine," Song said. "We are going to keep fighting. We see some cracks in the wall. We see the wall crumbling just like it did for civil rights."

Connecticut’s two Democratic U.S. senators are also pushing for Senate action. The chamber needs 60% of the vote to pass most legislation — meaning at least 10 Republicans would need to support gun control measures.

Copyright 2022 WSHU. To see more, visit WSHU.

As WSHU Public Radio’s award-winning senior political reporter, Ebong Udoma draws on his extensive tenure to delve deep into state politics during a major election year. In addition to providing long-form reports and features for WSHU, he regularly contributes spot news to NPR, and has worked at the NPR National News Desk as part of NPR’s diversity initiative.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.