Murder victims families talk gun laws

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) -- Family members of recent murder victims in the state's largest cities say the gun law changes being talked about at the State Capitol don't go far enough.

They say hand gun owners should have to register every year so that law enforcement can keep track of the biggest problem facing the cities, handgun violence.

The mothers of murdered children in the cities say they empathize with the parents in Newtown but that they have been crying for help for a long time.

"I'm not here for tears right now, I'm here to let each and every man and woman, we have to have a solution," said Betsy Baldwin.

Betsy Baldwin's son was murdered with a handgun in Bridgeport in the summer of 2010.

"We need help in New Haven, we really need help in New Haven and where are the guns coming from," said Kim Mozell of New Haven.

Thomas Mozell was killed with a handgun one year ago next month, found dead in a vehicle.

Just two of the hundreds of unsolved handgun murders of mostly young people, in New Haven, Bridgeport and Hartford over the past decade.

Baldwin and Mozell were two of three mothers of handgun murder victims in those cities that came to the Capitol on Wednesday to say that the Governor's proposals to tighten the assault weapons ban and ban high capacity ammunition and universal gun registration will not stop the shootings in the cities.

"This is a handgun problem, it's just as urgent, in fact a bigger problem and we need to address it with the same speed that the Governor is looking for, for these other issues," said Ron Pinciaro, CT Against Gun Violence.

The families of the victims of handgun violence in the cities joined with the organization 'Connecticut Against Gun Violence' calling for annual re-registering of all handguns in the state in order to keep track of them and know where they all are.

But a spokesman for the state's gun owners say annual regististration isn't needed and won't solve the illegal handgun problem in the big cities.

"What we want is undercover agents to go into the big cities, find out who's selling the guns, find out where they're coming from and stop car trunk sales," said Bob Crook, Alliance of CT Sportsmen.

The Governor's office tells News 8 that their proposals are only meant to be a first step and that other proposals like the annual handgun registration could be part of the final plan.