FIREARM BALLISTIC IDENTIFICATION PUBLIC HEARING

At the Deadline Meeting for the Judiciary Committee, they passed a substitute bill. The Substitute replaces the original bill in its entirety. Thanks to all who provided legislative input.

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Substitute SB53

AN ACT CONCERNING A FIREARM BALLISTIC IDENTIFICATION DATA BANK.

Section 1. (Effective from passage) (a) The Department of Public Safety, in consultation with the Office of the Chief State's Attorney and the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association, shall conduct a study to determine the feasibility and potential benefits to law enforcement of establishing a firearm ballistic identification data bank that would contain ballistic images and additional identifying information with respect to new firearms that are sold in this state.

(b) The study shall include, but not be limited to, an examination of:

(1) The methods by which firearm manufacturers, importers and dealers would collect ballistic images from firearms prior to sale in this state and forward that information to the department;

(2) The methods by which the department would receive, store and make available to law enforcement agencies ballistic images submitted by firearm manufacturers, importers and dealers prior to sale in this state;

{3) The methods by which state and local law enforcement agencies would forward ballistic identification information to the department for inclusion in a s ballistics identification data bank;

(4) The state of current ballistics imaging technology and whether that technology is adequate to accommodate an expanded data bank and to accurately and efficiently produce matches with crime scene evidence;

(5) The potential financial costs to the department of establishing and maintaining a statewide or interstate ballistics identification data bank;

(6) The extent to which the establishment o£ a ballistics identification data bank would assist law enforcement in solving or preventing crimes;

(7) The number of states or other jurisdictions that have established ballistic identification data banks, and the effectiveness of those data banks in solving and preventing crime in those states; and

(8) The degree of interest in other states in joining together in an interstate compact or agreement for the acquisition, installation and operation of' technology for, ballistics imaging and for the establishment and maintenance of an interstate ballistic identification data bank;

(c) Not later than February 4, 2004, the department shall report its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly on the judiciary in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes.

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At the Judiciary Committee public hearing on Monday, March 17, 2003 at 1: 00 P. M. concerning, *S. B. No. 53 (COMM) AN ACT ESTABLISHING A FIREARM BALLISTIC IDENTIFICATION DATA BANK FOR ALL NEW HANDGUNS - The hearing went well. There were about 8 sportsmen who testified in Opposition, 1 Anti-gun person in Support, and the Chiefs of Police who supported the bill in a passing comment. The CT State Police were conspicuously absent and we have some assurances they are opposed to the bill. Bruce Stern and I arrived for sign up @ about 8AM and testified at about 4PM. We expected more people considering the 20 bills on the agenda, but only a total of about 40 were present. We apologize to those who came to testify after the hearing closed, at about 5:30 - We expected it to go longer.

The highlight of the hearing on "Ballistic Fingerprinting" was the presence of Dwight Van Horn, a ballistics expert, from Idaho, with experience on the a major police force in NJ and retirement from the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Dept. Van Horn, an independent ballistics consultant and expert witness, was invited to testify by CCS due to the technical nature of the bill. He filled in all the technical blanks admirably, answered many questions in detail from legislators, and we believe convinced them that the bill's intent was not feasible considering cost-benefit and the state of the technology.

We don't know what judiciary will do with the bill so your communications are still necessary. We've heard from Judiciary legislators there has not been much input - If you haven't done so, do it now. We need your input either by e-mail, letter, or phone call to Legislators, and they need it to understand the issue. See articles currently on our website www.ctsportsmen.com selected portions which can be copied and pasted into your message. Keep it short, limited generally to one page. Make sure you identify the bill by short title "FIREARM BALLISTIC IDENTIFICATION" and your position OPPOSE in the e-mail subject line. On our website under "legislation", Use the e-mail batching for the Judiciary Comm. - all you have to do is copy and paste into the address block. Communications are valid even after the Public Hearing. We need to inundate the committee with factual opposition and lots of it.

Briefs from the state Capitol
March 17, 2003 Associated Press

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A proposal to set up a database of ballistic fingerprinting met with some opposition Monday from Connecticut sportsmen, but drew the support of police during a hearing before the legislature's Judiciary Committee.

The measure would require firearms dealers to send a spent bullet and shell casing from new handguns, pistols and revolvers to the state Department of Public Safety after a firearm is sold. The image of the fingerprint would be recorded and entered into a searchable database to help law enforcement identify bullets used during crimes.

Currently, New York and Maryland are the only states with gun fingerprinting programs.

Bruce Stern, president of the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen, said the program would cost million of dollars to implement and called it a "boondoggle bill." He said the program has not proved effective in either New York or Maryland.

"In this day and age, especially in this state with very severe financial problems, zero cost effectiveness cannot be good for the state," Stern said.

He said money that would be spent on the ballistic fingerprinting would be better spent training more police officers.

"Why don't we concentrate on putting more cops on the street," he said.

West Hartford Police Chief James Strillacci, representing the Connecticut Police Chief's Association testified on behalf of the bill. However, he noted that as guns are repaired, the unique ballistic traits change. He suggested the bill include taking a new fingerprint after repairs or modifications.

Committee Hears Opposing Views On Handgun Bill

By MICHAEL COSTANZA Day Staff Writer Published on 3/18/2003

Hartford–– Gun owners and gun-control advocates sparred Monday over legislation that calls for Connecticut to keep records of the ballistic markings of every new handgun sold in the state, disagreeing over whether the technology would help solve crimes.

The two sides testified before the legislature's Judiciary Committee, which is considering a proposal to create a ballistics fingerprinting database with Massachusetts. The bill would require the Department of Public Safety, beginning in January 2005, to keep a bullet and shell-casing fired from each new firearm before it is sold.

Forensics experts would scan the unique markings –– often compared to fingerprints –– that each gun leaves on its ammunition and keep the information and a serial number in a database. Police could compare the markings on bullets or casings they find at crime scenes to those in the database and, if they find a match, trace the gun to its original buyer by checking local sale records.

The proposal drew support Monday from the Connecticut Collaborative for Education Against Gun Violence and the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association. But officials from the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen and a ballistics expert said the system hasn't worked in the two states that now use it.

Maryland and New York already keep ballistics databases for new handguns, but neither state has convicted suspects using the technology. In Maryland, which created its database in October 2000, state police have made just two matches to guns used in crimes.

“One of the reasons it hasn't worked is because ammunition selection is critical to matching crime-scene evidence to firearms,” Dwight Van Horn, a retired deputy sheriff from Los Angeles County, told lawmakers. A study by California law-enforcement officials, which concluded that the databases were not feasible, showed that criminals can often beat the technology 63 percent of the time simply by using a different brand of bullets from those used when manufacturers test-fire the weapons.

Gun-rights groups such as the National Rifle Association have argued that the technology won't work because criminals could still use any of the 200 million guns already in private possession in the United States. They also fear that states could use the databases as a de facto gun registration scheme, which they argue violates gun owners' privacy and Second Amendment rights.

Bruce Stern, president of the sportsmen's coalition, called the technology a “ballistics boondoggle” and said Connecticut would be wasting the $1 million or more that it might cost to launch the database. Robert Crook, the group's executive director, said “fingerprinting” is a misnomer for the technology because ballistic markings, unlike real fingerprints, can be altered if someone changes or scratches a gun's barrel or firing pin.

Connecticut's proposal calls for fines up to $1,000 and jail terms as long as five years for anyone who intentionally alters a handgun. Crook worried that the state could harass gunsmiths for simply repairing guns.

West Hartford Police Chief James Strilicci said the chiefs' association supports the proposal but recommends changing it to require gun owners or gunsmiths to submit new test-fired bullets each time a gun is repaired.

The proposal now calls for gun manufacturers to give a test-fired bullet and casing in a sealed container to gun dealers for every new gun. The dealer would be required to submit the bullet and casing to the Department of Public Safety within 10 days of the time of sale. Any manufacturer or dealer who violates the new law would face a misdemeanor charge, or a felony charge for a third offense, and risk losing the permit to sell handguns.

*JUDICIARY COMMITTEE MONDAY, MARCH 17, 2003

The Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing on Monday, March 17, 2003 at 1: 00 P. M. in Room 2C of the LOB. Sign up for the hearing will begin at 9: 30 A. M. in the Atrium. Please submit 65 copies of written testimony to the Committee in Room 2500 two hours prior to the hearing.
SUBJECT MATTER: Guns

*S. B. No. 53 (COMM) AN ACT ESTABLISHING A FIREARM BALLISTIC IDENTIFICATION DATA BANK FOR ALL NEW HANDGUNS.

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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 53

AN ACT ESTABLISHING A FIREARM BALLISTIC IDENTIFICATION DATA BANK FOR ALL NEW HANDGUNS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2003) (a) For the purposes of this act: (1) "Manufacturer" means any person, firm or corporation possessing a valid federal license that permits such person, firm or corporation to engage in the business of manufacturing firearms or ammunition therefor for the purpose of sale or distribution, (2) "projectile" means that part of ammunition for a pistol or revolver that is, by means of an explosion, expelled through the barrel of a pistol or revolver, and (3) "shell casing" means that part of ammunition for a pistol or revolver that contains the primer and propellant powder to discharge the projectile.

(b) On and after January 1, 2005, no manufacturer shall sell, deliver or otherwise transfer a new pistol or revolver to any person, firm or corporation holding a permit to sell at retail pistols and revolvers issued pursuant to subsection (a) of section 29-28 of the general statutes unless such manufacturer has, in accordance with regulations adopted by the Commissioner of Public Safety pursuant to subsection (h) of this section, included in the package with such pistol or revolver a separate sealed container that contains (1) a projectile discharged from such pistol or revolver, (2) a shell casing of a projectile discharged from such pistol or revolver, and (3) additional information that identifies such pistol or revolver, projectile and shell casing as may be required by such regulations.

(c) On and after January 1, 2005, no person, firm or corporation holding a permit to sell at retail pistols and revolvers issued pursuant to subsection (a) of section 29-28 of the general statutes shall sell, deliver or otherwise transfer any new pistol or revolver unless such person, firm or corporation has received a separate sealed container with respect to such pistol or revolver from the manufacturer of such pistol or revolver pursuant to subsection (b) of this section or obtained a substitute sealed container pursuant to subsection (e) of this section.

(d) Not later than ten days after such sale, delivery or other transfer, such person, firm or corporation shall submit to the commissioner the sealed container with respect to such pistol or revolver that was received from the manufacturer of such pistol or revolver pursuant to subsection (b) of this section or obtained pursuant to subsection (e) of this section.

(e) If any such person, firm or corporation fails to receive a separate sealed container with respect to a pistol or revolver from a manufacturer pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, such person, firm or corporation shall notify the Commissioner of Public Safety of such noncompliance and the commissioner shall specify an alternative procedure for such person, firm or corporation to obtain a substitute sealed container containing a projectile, shell casing and additional identifying information with respect to such pistol or revolver.

(f) The Commissioner of Public Safety shall cause the projectile and shell casing contained in each container submitted pursuant to this section to be imaged and, together with the additional identifying information contained in such container, to be entered into the interstate firearm ballistic identification data bank established under section 3 of this act.

(g) Any person, firm or corporation that violates the provisions of subsection (b), (c) or (d) of this section shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor for a first offense, a class A misdemeanor for a second offense and a class D felony for any subsequent offense, and the permit to sell at retail pistols and revolvers issued pursuant to subsection (a) of section 29-28 of the general statutes of any person, firm or corporation that violates subsection (c) or (d) of this section shall be revoked.

(h) The Commissioner of Public Safety shall adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54 of the general statutes, to implement the provisions of this section.

Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2003) (a) On and after January 1, 2005, no person shall modify the barrel, firing pin or any other part of a pistol or revolver for the purpose of altering the markings that are made on the projectile or shell casing when such projectile or shell casing is discharged or ejected from the pistol or revolver.

(b) Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2003) (a) The Commissioner of Public Safety shall enter into an agreement with one or more states for the acquisition, installation and operation of technology for the imaging, analysis and comparison of projectiles and shell casings and for the establishment and maintenance of an interstate firearm ballistic identification data bank for the joint use by law enforcement agencies of those states entering into such agreement.

(b) In the event that the Commissioner of Public Safety has not entered into any such agreement by February 1, 2004, the commissioner shall submit to the General Assembly the commissioner's recommendation for a revised implementation date for sections 1 and 2 of this act.

This act shall take effect as follows:
Section 1	July 1, 2003
Sec. 2	July 1, 2003
Sec. 3	July 1, 2003

To require the collection of ballistic information from all new handguns sold in the state and the entry of such information into a firearms ballistic identification data bank.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]

Co-Sponsors: SEN. SULLIVAN, 5th Dist.; SEN. LOONEY, 11th Dist.; REP. O'BRIEN, 24th Dist.

Now is the time to call, write, e-mail your legislators and particularly those on Judiciary Committee with your views. See www.ctsportsmen.com under "legislation" for Comm. e-mail addresses.