Aimed at protecting children from guns in the home, Ethan's Law passed in Connecticut with strong bipartisan support (127-16 in the House, 34-2 in the Senate) in 2019. As members of the state's congressional delegation introduce a federal version, they expect the margins to be much closer.
"It won't come easily," said Rep. Jim Himes (D-4th) during a Zoom conference featuring all seven members of the delegation. "It is going to require all of us to put our noses to the grindstone and, of course, it's going to require those activists out there to really put it to those who have stood in the way of this stuff."
The state bill and the federal proposal are named for Ethan Song, 15, of Guilford, who was shot and killed in 2018 while playing with guns at a friend's home. His parents, Kristin and Mike Song, joined Wednesday's Zoom to support the effort.
Everyone on the call agreed that Ethan's Law is a bill that every parent can get behind. It requires guns, loaded or unloaded, to be locked away in homes where children live and play.
"Our friends who own guns are in favor of Ethan's Law, virtually all of them," said Mike Song. "They are because they know that their kids also play in other people's homes, and that's what happened to Ethan. He wasn't in our home."
Kristin Song added that her family's advocacy for the Connecticut bill was successful, in part, because it didn't get bogged down in contentious Second Amendment politics. She said, "We've never tried to get into the mix of all the gun legislation. We viewed it simply as a life-saving legislation for children. Period."
Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-5th) agreed, saying that Ethan's Law is a common sense bill that's not aimed at seizing anyone's guns: "Anyone who is a registered, lawful gun owner should want to store their firearm safely and should want everyone else to do the same."
