Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy said he is taking the necessary steps to prevent sales of guns to anyone on federal government “watch lists,” dubbed “no-fly” lists.
Connecticut is now the first state to try to prevent gun sales those those prohibited from flying — which comes as President Obama has called for similar federal action.
A spokesperson from Malloy’s office said the Democratic governor plans to issue an executive order and is working with the White House directly to gain access to the watch lists, which include people who have not necessarily committed any crimes, but are suspected of having connections to terrorist groups.
“If Congress will not act, we in the states will,” Malloy told a press conference outside his office Thursday afternoon, according to the Hartford Courant. He said the action is “simple common sense.”
Malloy said he would deny gun sales to those “who represent a real risk, as opposed to a made-up one or perceived one.”
“You are a governor for a reason … to protect your citizenry. I am frustrated that our nation is having the wrong debate [about gun control and terrorism] and I’d like to see us focus on the right one,” Malloy said.
Connecticut’s gun laws are some of the strictest in the country, and some were enacted in 2013 after the December 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown when a gunman killed 26 before killing himself.
