| March 3, 2008 Lawmakers to debate gun microstamping technology in Conn.
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(NECN) – Microstamping, is a technology that is helping police track down people who commit gun crimes. Now, the brainchild of a New Hampshire man, could be coming to Connecticut.
A West Hartford, Connecticut police officer fires four rounds from a semi-automatic handgun at the department's range. This gun is different – it has a lazer engraving on the firing pin and the breech face. The engraving stamps the bullet cartridge twice with information that can be seen under a microscope. The information identifies the cartridge as coming from this particular weapon.
With a microstamp, cartridges can trace the gun to its first owner. Semi-automatic handguns are the weapons of choice for street criminals. The more information police have about those guns the better.
Rep. Michael Lawlor, says, “Its not just about who fired the gun. It is about who put the gun into that kid's hands and that's what we hear over and over again. People in our major cities are saying, ‘Where are these kids getting these guns?’ and so this is a way to trace it back to those people and hold them accountable as much as it is catching the actual murderers.”
Legislators want to require every semi-automatic handgun sold in Connecticut to include microstamping starting in 2010. California has already passed such a law.
Lawmakers will hold a public hearing on the issue within a couple of weeks. They expect the NRA to show up with the same old arguments that they
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