CONNECTICUT GUN OWNERS SUE OVER GOOFY MAG LIMIT LAW

In most of America, magazines that hold more than 10 rounds are considered standard capacity. In Connecticut, that is not the case. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Two Glock owners in Connecticut have filed a federal lawsuit against the state over a 2013 law that limits how many rounds they can put in their standard capacity magazines.

Connecticut residents Susan Ross and Domenic Basile are challenging the current statute that bars the from loading more than 10 cartridges into a so-called “high capacity magazine.” This means that the Glock owners, who have a G19 that comes standard with 15-round mags, and a G17 which comes from the factory with 17-round flush-fit magazines, have to download them to just 10 rounds to remain legal.

Backed in their lawsuit by the Second Amendment Foundation and Connecticut Citizens Defense League, the pro-gun groups argue Ross and Basile have their guns for personal and family protection, yet they fear they could be prosecuted for carrying them fully-loaded under the state prohibition.

“This law does nothing more than penalize law-abiding citizens while criminalizing components of handguns they own that were previously legal,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb in a statement emailed to Guns.com. “This is a textbook example of turning honest citizens into criminals by the mere stroke of a pen by the governor.”

Gottlieb went on to explain that original capacity magazines are not dangerous or unusual, saying “They’re in common use all over the country. But the Connecticut law makes it illegal to use such magazines, which amounts to a deprivation of rights under federal law.”

CCDL President, Holly Sullivan, stressed the challenged law has little effect on crime.

“Only a law-abiding gun owner is going to heed the State’s requirement to load only 10 rounds into a magazine capable of holding more ammunition,” said Sullivan in a statement. “Criminals who are intent on doing harm will not follow this same law.”

This lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, names Connecticut State Police Col. Stavros Mellekas, state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner James Rovella, and Chief State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo as defendants. It alleges violations of both the Second and Fourteenth Amendments, seeking an injunction against the defendants from enforcing the statute.