US judge upholds Connecticut’s gun control law

A federal judge in the United States has upheld Connecticut’s far-reaching gun control law which is known as the toughest in the country.

Last April, the state’s governor Dannel P. Malloy signed into law a bill passed by Connecticut’s General Assembly and Senate which expanded the list of illegal weapons under the state’s assault weapons ban.

The law also banned the sale of large-capacity magazines and required background checks for all weapon sales, including at gun shows.

Nevertheless, a group of gun owners challenged the law, saying it was in violation of their Second Amendment rights.

US District Judge Alfred Covello said in a 47-page decision on Thursday that the legislation is “constitutional” while “the act burdens the plaintiff’s Second Amendment rights.”

The law was passed and signed last year in response to a deadly shooting at an elementary school in Newtown the previous year.

Using an assault rifle sold legally to his mother, Adam Lanza killed 20 first-grade school children and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.

The issue of gun violence in the US came under spotlight following the rampage and many people across the country, including family members of gun violence victims, called for tougher gun control laws.

According to an interactive project between slate.com and the anonymous creator of the Twitter feed @GunDeaths, there have been more than 12,000 gun deaths in the country reported by the US media since the tragic shooting.