When a police officer responds to a complaint about an individual openly carrying a gun and begins approaching that person, that officer has to make split-second decisions that have the potential to result in disaster for the individual carrying the weapon, the officer, and even uninvolved citizens in their proximity.

To address the public safety concern that occasional confrontations with open carry proponents pose, the Connecticut Legislature has introduced a Judiciary Committee initiative referred to as House Bill 6200 - An Act Concerning The Presentation Of A Permit To Carry A Pistol Or Revolver.

Newtown Rep Mitch Bolinsky is a co-sponsor of the bill.

If passed into law as proposed, the legislation would require individuals who openly carrying a pistol or revolver to produce their permit upon request of a law enforcement officer if the firearm is visible to such officer. Currently, according to Newtown Police Chief James Viadero, the individual who may be openly carrying is not mandated to do so by law.

Chief Viadero has been working beside colleagues from across the state through the Connecticut Chiefs of Police Association to support the bill, and Newtown Legislative Council Chair Mary Ann Jacob testified on the proposal recently at the Capitol.

While she was testifying as an individual, Ms Jacob reminded lawmakers that she was a surviving staff member of the 12/14 tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and that in her official capacity with the council, she was a primary author on Newtown's recently enacted Firearms Ordinance.

A memo issued by the police chiefs association on March 15 states that the measure could increase safety to the public by enabling law enforcement officers to properly identify law-abiding pistol permit holders who openly carry firearms.

Chief Viadero said that there have been several situations, including recent incidents in Waterbury and Bethel, where individuals openly carrying have sought to attract complaints that resulted in police response, which puts the responding officers, the carrying individual, and others at risk. His concern is echoed in the Police Chiefs Association memo.

The memo recognizes that a small number of permit holders have purposely engaged in open carry behavior with the intent of creating situations where the officer cannot request their permit, which creates the potential for confrontations that "are unnerving to the public."

"We're looking at it as a common sense bill," Chief Viadero said. "Our officers are being put in precarious positions as far as having to make that split-second determination whether there is reasonable suspicion or not to ascertain whether the individual who is openly carrying is legally entitled to do so. That moment of hesitation amounts to an officer safety issue."

Chief Viadero echoed the testimony from Ms Jacob, recognizing that the bill has caused some concern about Second Amendment rights, but they both asserted that once an individual is granted the privilege of carrying a firearm, an officer should have the right to ask someone openly carrying to produce their permit upon request.

"That way, the officer responding can make a determination that the person is lawfully entitled to carry that firearm," Chief Viadero added.

In her testimony at the capital, Ms Jacob affirmed that she is a supporter of both Second Amendment rights and gun violence prevention.

"My husband and our two sons are avid sportsmen who enjoy hunting and other shooting sports," she said. "In our home we have a number of guns used for that purpose that remain unloaded and stored in our safe as a matter of practice. As a family, we believe in the right to bear arms, but we also believe that right comes with a grave responsibility."

An Important Tool

Ms Jacob believes that House Bill 6200, Show your Permit, is an important tool in the gun safety toolbox for Newtown's law enforcement team, and their colleagues across the state.

"Our law enforcement officers deserve to have the appropriate tools in their toolbox to prevent unnecessary gun violence," she stated. "Responsible gun owners that I know understand their grave responsibility towards public safety and support sensible common sense gun laws like Show Your Permit."

She pointed out that Connecticut has led the country in sensible common sense gun legislation that has reduced firearm related deaths year after year.

"Our chief of police says that situations between law enforcement and permit holders openly carrying can be confusing for those charged with public safety," she testified. "That effects their ability to protect us, make their jobs harder, and causes risks to public safety. We need to give them clear direction and give them the flexibility to better assess and deescalate potentially dangerous situations. This bill does that."

Chief Viadero said that on most of the occasions where individuals have openly carried with the motive of generating police response, it has resulted in "confrontational situations."

"It's a minimal intrusion to the permit holder," he said. "Do you have a permit? Produce it. You're free to go. This is primarily an officer safety issue."

Today, unless an officer has reasonable suspicion to suspect an individual openly carrying is engaged in or about to be engaged in a criminal activity, they have no legal mechanism to demand to see a carry permit, Chief Viadero said.

"If you have an individual walking around, say, a grocery store openly carrying, people around them are concerned - it's not a common sight," the chief said. "This puts them in a position where they could have a moment of hesitation - can I stop him or not - and that hesitation could sacrifice the officer's safety and the public's safety. We don't look at this as a Second Amendment infringement."

First Selectman Pat Llodra agrees, and told The Newtown Bee that she would have testified on HB 6200 if she wasn't so involved in budget related testimony - and she was glad that Ms Jacob was willing and able to step up as a citizen to support the measure.

"This isn't an effort to curtail the right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment, which we're hearing from opponents," she said. "It has to do with public safety and valuing the rights and responsibilities of every citizen. In this civil society we all have to observe some reasonable rules."