The state of Connecticut has definitively proven that they treat gun owners and gun protestors differently under the same letter of the law.
Connecticut recently had a state-level hearing to discuss new gun laws and regulations. As you might imagine, residents from both sides of the aisle showed up to support their views. There was a good mix of card-carrying NRA members and purple-haired progressives. Among that crowd was one progressive in particular who lost her cool (big surprise, right?). She sent out a mass text saying, “If I had a gun, I’d blow away Sampson and a large group of NRA.”
For clarity, Senator Rob Sampson was one of the key political figures in the discussion. He’s a stout defender of the Second Amendment, so naturally his very existence triggered the progressives. Since this text spread like wildfire, it was ultimately brought to the attention of the authorities. They dismissed it without taking any legal action.
What’s going to set your brain on fire is learning about this other story in Connecticut. Resident Ted Taupier was going through a nasty divorce. The judge presiding over the divorce, Elizabeth Bozzuto, gave an order that he could have no contact with his children for at least three months. As you might imagine, Taupier was angry with this decision. He also sent a potentially threatening text, but he only sent it to one person. It was ultimately shared without his consent. It read, “Bozzuto lives in Watertown with her boys and Na! … There [are] 245 [yards] between her master bedroom and a cemetery that provides cover and concealment. They could try and put me in jail but that would start the ringing of a bell that can be undone.”
The parallels between this text and the previous are pretty obvious. Despite the similarity, Taupier was arrested at the hands of multiple SWAT teams. By his estimate, at least 30 law enforcers came to his house to arrest him. All of his firearms were seized and his bail was set at $1 million. He was never charged with a crime.
Stop for a minute and review this. Connecticut used a red-flag law to arrest a man, seize his property and effectively fine him $1 million without ever charging a crime. According to Connecticut law, he did nothing wrong, but this was still the outcome.
