At the beginning of this year’s state legislative session, local Representative Mark Anderson sponsored House Bill 5717. This legislation proposed to eliminate capacity limits on firearm magazines, remove all requirements to register large capacity magazines, and would require the state to destroy any records accumulated that document the location of large capacity magazines.
Rep. Anderson’s proposed legislation would have rescinded firearm safety regulations implemented by our state legislature following the Sandy Hook massacre. Some will recall that the Sandy Hook shooting was perpetrated by a gunman carrying semiautomatic weapons, including a weapon that had a magazine with 30-rounds of ammunition. Twenty children and six staff members were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
The decision and timing to advance this type of legislation suggests Rep. Anderson’s priorities may not be aligned with our community.
Why?
Last month we concluded Granby’s annual 2025/26 budget process. Perhaps unknown to many, our town’s education budget includes the addition of a School Resource Officer (SRO) Program. SRO programs have been implemented across the United States to create safer learning environments in response to community concerns regarding school safety, including mass shooting events. Not surprisingly, it was reported during the budget process that 80 percent of a broad group of local stakeholders supported the implementation of the SRO program in the Granby school system.
The annual cost for the SRO program at approximately $150,000 is not trivial. To their credit, our boards of education and finance were able to collaborate on this expenditure and advance a budget that funds the SRO program and is expected to create a safer learning environment for our children.
As we prudently manage our local resources, we should expect our elected representatives to be aligned and working on our behalf, including on matters of public safety. Rep. Anderson’s decision and motivation to sponsor HB 5717, in light of our local efforts and expenditures to ensure school safety, deserves our scrutiny.