The Day’s May 4 article by Greg Smith titled, “Does CT prosecute gun offenders?” addressed the issue of prosecution rates for firearm related offenses. The article explained how prosecutors focus on the most serious offenses. This is supported by firearm offense statistics showing high prosecution rates for offenses like assault, manslaughter and burglary.

However, many “gun control” laws in Connecticut (magazine and rifle bans, storage laws, altering serial numbers and others) have low prosecution rates and are normally only prosecuted incidental to the more serious crimes. Furthermore, there is no evidence to suggest these gun control laws are a driving force in reducing serious crime.

The criticism of gun control law prosecution is not on the prosecutors. Rather, it is on the politicians who claim the incremental laws will make us safer, while those claims are not supported by the prosecution data. Credit to state Rep. Greg Howard for making this critical point clear. It is troubling that Connecticut Against Gun Violence (CAGV), advocates for more gun control storage laws to reduce gun theft. They overlook the associated home invasion and auto theft violations which should be the focus.

Gerald Richard

Deep River