Drawing on the success of a similar organization that was formed in Virginia (VCDL), a small group of activist gun owners in CT has started a new group of citizens to advocate for gun rights issues.
Scott Wilson has been named CCDL’s Interim President; the group boasts more than 150 members and supporters on Facebook and CCDL has been hosting meetings recently to draft a Constitution; elect its officers and formulate a game plan to be proactive in protecting our rights to own, carry and use firearms lawfully.
Contact email for CCDL is: uskrusader@yahoo.com
CCDL’s Mission Statement as posted on Facebook:
“The Connecticut Citizens’ Defense League is a non-partisan, grassroots organization devoted to advocating rights affirmed by the Constitutions of the United States of America and the State of Connecticut. We are especially dedicated to protecting the unalienable right of all citizens to keep and bear arms, for the defense of both self and state, through public enlightenment and legislative action.
We welcome anyone who believes that the defense of our constitutional rights is critical to the longevity of our freedom and to the success of this nation, and in particular that the rights to self defense and to keep and bear the arms to actualize that defense, are fundamental and undeniable.”
One of the issues CCDL is currently addressing is the debate in CT over open vs. concealed carry. Recently there was legislation proposed
that would mandate concealed carry. Currently, CT State law has no such mandate. Some gun owners have been arrested and had their permits revoked and guns confiscated because another person saw the edge of a holster, or the edge of a grip showing under a shirt or jacket. Police are being incorrectly taught at the academies that permit holders MUST completely conceal their firearms and this incorrect opinion is resulting in legal troubles for some people. What does exist in CT is a requirement to avoid any arousal of public alarm; and any call to police to question and verfiy a gun owner’s permit status is being treated as a “public alarm”. That was not the intent of CT law.
There is a difference between someone keenly noticing or catching a glimpse of a holstered gun inside a jacket and someone who is waving around, brandishing, showing off, etc. a firearm in an inappropriate setting. The latter is a case of arousing public alarm. The former is not.
Another matter that CCDL has been concerned with is proposed legislation that would eliminate the Board of Firearms Permit Examiners (BFPE) and bundle its function inside State Police. This proposal, included under SB.839 would remove any access and recourse to CT citizens to appeal a decision to be denied a permit or whose permit was revoked and have a case for appeal heard by an Independent Board. The rationale to eliminate the board as proposed by Governor Rell, is cost. One must question this rationale since the Board’s members are not compensated and the only “paid” position is the administrative assistant assigned to the Board who is a state employee, and this Board meets only once or twice per month for one afternoon. There isn’t much money to be saved by eliminating the BFPE!
Peter Kuck, of the Ye CT Gun Guild is a member of this board and in fact, has testified to save the BFPE. Please read the March 16, 2009 blog entry for more on that and visit the Guild’s site at: http://www.ycgg.org/ to read the details Peter has provided for the benefit of Connecticut’s Shooters & Sportsmen on this and other eye opening issues within the State.
CTSAS.INFO would like to thank Scott Wilson, Ira Meisenheimer, Larry Benedetto, Keith Golnik and so many others I haven’t listed here for founding this new grassroots effort.
Connecticut Shooters and Sportsmen 