Rep. Dan Carter on Why He Voted 'No' on Gun Bill

When the Connecticut General Assembly voted to pass a bill with extensive changes to the state's gun laws, Rep. Dan Carter (R-2) was the only member of the Newtown area delegation to vote against it.

In a statement released Thursday afternoon, he said he was "deeply concerned the over-reaching nature of the bill and the constitutional implications will continue to promote the growing rift between those that own guns and those that do not, especially in the Newtown community."

His colleagues representing Newtown supported the bill. Rep. Mitch Bolinsky dedicated his vote to the victims of the Dec. 14 shooting.

"For the families I represent, I vote yes to a comprehensive, bipartisan bill that, while not perfect, provides a foundation of common sense firearms legislation, while preserving the rights of responsible citizens under the Second Amendment," said Bolinsky.

Carter had proposed two bills, HB 6249 (which concerned gun storage) and HB 6163 (which called for a database of people with mental health disorders barred from owning guns.)

"The fact that this law just created a [mental health] study is kind of silly," he said. "There's a lot of smart people working on this, and we could have come up with something better."

Gov. Dannel Malloy signed the bill into law Thursday.

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Carter on gun violence and societal issues:

"I'm for strong regulation, but every time you try these things, people yell at you. But I'm not a coward. We need to face mental health and violence in society, but too many people were screaming and yelling about guns. And we end up marginalizing the whole debate. 

"In Bethel, someone had a sticker on their car. And someone else came up to them in the parking lot and said, 'You're the reason Newtown happened.' The stereotypical gun owner right now is being looked at as a bad person for owning guns."

On groups involved in the debate:

"Look at who gives people the ability to speak out and make the noise. Connecticut Against Gun Violence is an organization that has been very well funded. I've seen how they organize things, organize people and run ads. And some of the people on that side have been really mean.

"The other side is the NRA, and frankly, they're always the ones who are touted as the bad boys. I've never met anyone from the NRA, and frankly they didn't do me any favors. In fact, they hurt me in their efforts with those orange cards they sent out. I got more of a backlash from that than from anything, because people think all the sudden I'm from the NRA."

On the reaction to his vote:

"I represent Newtown, but also Bethel, Danbury and Redding. In Redding, there's a strong contingency of March for Change. They're not happy with me right now. I'm taking my beating there, I guess. But I do represent a large constituency, and many folks I talked to didn't support this kind of gun control. They support background checks and things that are reasonable, but they feel this went too far.

"There are people in Newtown who are really angry with me for this vote and don't understand I represent other areas too ... But there are a lot of people who believe reasonable regulation matters, not doing these bans on the weapons. Even in Newtown, I don't believe everybody wanted this ... And it's controversial to even say that. This issue is controversial, and there are a lot of people who are afraid to talk about it. Gun ownership now is the new political correctness. I'm watching the issue get further torn apart, and I'm the one who's going to be accused."

On his plans to continue the issue:

"I'm trying now to put together a way to communicate with people and let them know how I stand. Because it becomes blood in the water. Everyone assumes, because I voted against this, I don't want change. They're going to assume the worst.

"This debate is not over. I'm not going to confiscate magazines or any of this craziness. We're going to do things that really combat gun violence -- like enforcement and mental health issues."

On why he voted against the bill:

"I'm as affected as anybody by what happened. I have children too. What bothers me is that my voting against this bill is some interpretation that I don't support them. But at the end of the day, I want to support things that work. And I think we have a responsibility to come up with policies that are right from the beginning -- things that aren't just a reaction.

"I hope people understand that I care about Newtown as much as my other communities. It was not an easy call to do this. But at the end of the day, having legislation that helps people is important. This isn't it. It falls short. And people need to know that."