HARTFORD, Conn. –– The Connecticut Senate on Thursday approved a measure that would ban children under 16 years old from handling or shooting machine guns.

The legislation, which passed on a 31-2 vote, stems from the October death of an 8-year-old Ashford boy who accidentally shot himself in the head with an Uzi at a Massachusetts gun show.

"For a young person, a minor, to handle an automatic weapon ... it's like saying that it's OK to pick up a rattlesnake and that it is somehow going to be safe," said Senate President Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn. "It's not going to be safe and it should not be legal and I would think that a lot of folks would be shocked that there was not a law."

The bill now moves to the House of Representatives, where it is expected to pass.

The boy, Christopher Bizilj, was killed Oct. 26 when he lost control of the powerful automatic weapon as it recoiled while he was firing at a pumpkin at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman's Club. Christopher's father was 10 feet behind him and reaching for his camera when the child fired the weapon.

Three men, including Pelham, Mass., Police Chief Edward Fleury, whose business promoted the gun show, and two men who brought the Uzi, have been charged under Massachusetts law with involuntary manslaughter. Fleury was also charged with four counts of furnishing a machine gun to a person under 18.

All three have pleaded not guilty to their respective charges.

Some senators considered gun rights advocates voted in favor of the bill, calling it common sense. But Sen. Kevin Witkos, R-Canton, a police officer, said he voted no because he doubts the legislation would stop any future tragedies.

Connecticut law allows minors to handle other guns when supervised. Supporters of the bill said it makes sense to single out machine guns because their recoil could be too powerful for a child to handle.

Under this bill, violators could face a $1,000 fine, imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both.
Sen. Tony Guglielmo, R-Stafford, who also voted against the bill, said he doesn't think a new law banning children from handling machine guns is necessary and said the government can't always stop the risks of life.

"We've got kids on dirt bikes riding all over the place. We've got them on skateboards doing all kinds of things that are high risk," he said. "You can't take all of the risk out of life. When we drove here this morning, we all took a risk."

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Three men, including Pelham, Mass., Police Chief Edward Fleury, whose business promoted the gun show, and two men who brought the Uzi, have been charged under Massachusetts law with involuntary manslaughter. Fleury was also charged with four counts of furnishing a machine gun to a person under 18.

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WTF?  If its already illegal, why are they passing a new law?  AND - how the hell 4 counts?

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One takes place in MA.



The other takes place in CT.

"For a young person, a minor, to handle an automatic weapon ...
it's like saying that it's OK to pick up a rattlesnake and that it is
somehow going to be safe," said Senate President Donald E. Williams
Jr., D-Brooklyn. "It's not going to be safe and it should not be legal
and I would think that a lot of folks would be shocked that there was
not a law."

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I need to get out of this shithole more and more everyday.

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So how can people from MA be charged under MA law for a "crime" (which wasn't a crime) that took place in Connecticut?

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I made my escape from CT hell to the gunshine state 4 years ago and I've never looked back. Best thing I've ever done in my life!

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There's a law that accomplishes nothing.