To the Editor:

I am proud to live in the state with the steepest decline in violent crime of any state in the nation. Since Connecticut enacted tougher gun regulations in January of 2013, after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, gun murders have decreased by about 40 percent.

It's no accident that Connecticut has seen a decline, while gun deaths nationwide have increased by 17 percent. Connecticut's gun safety laws are among the toughest in the country, banning semi-automatic weapons, limiting magazine size, and creating universal background checks.

Students across the country are telling us they don't feel safe. Now there are proposals to arm teachers, and to force Connecticut to honor concealed carry laws enacted in other states. These measures would jeopardize Connecticut's progress and would lead to a more frightening and dangerous environment for our schoolchildren.

On the other hand, Connecticut has two proposed bills which would help, HB5540 to ban bump stocks, and HB5542 to ban ghost guns, which are a way to avoid background checks and licensure requirements. These bills would further improve gun safety in our state.

Although the NRA and Republican leadership want you to believe that any gun control measures would mean eliminating the Second Amendment, Connecticut has shown that we can have sensible gun safety laws, reduce gun violence, and provide our children with safe schools, without eliminating Second Amendment rights.

It's time to build on Connecticut's successful gun safety laws, and extend them to the entire country. Let's preserve the Second Amendment, ban assault weapons, and enact more sensible gun legislation now.

Elizabeth Litt

86 Great Hill Road, Newtown         April 4, 2018