The single dumbest gun-control measure ever proposed

With extraordinary shortsightedness, Connecticut lawmakers want to publicize the addresses of handgun owners

Lt. Ray Mesek registers a pistol at a gun buyback event at the Bridgeport Police Department in Connecticut on Dec. 22.
(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The Connecticut state legislature is about to consider changing the law to make the information and addresses of 170,000 Connecticut handgun owners public. Aside from potentially being unconstitutional on the grounds that such a law would violate (somewhat ironically) the right to privacy first enumerated by the Supreme Court in Griswold v. Connecticut, this proposal would, if passed, prove a boon for criminals, a disaster for unarmed Connecticuters, and would eventually lead to the proliferation of handgun ownership throughout the state.

That was not a typo: I did, in fact, write that the law would most harm people who do not own handguns. Of course, the gun-rights crowd is emphasizing the harm the proposal would do to gun owners' privacy. And they argue that it would put handgun owners in more danger. It's certainly true that the law would invade the privacy of Connecticut residents who own guns. But it wouldn't put them in harm's way. It would actually maximize the utility of owning a firearm — to the detriment of people who don't own guns.

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Jeb Golinkin is an attorney from Houston, Texas. You can follow him on twitter @jgolinkin.