CONNECTICUT CITIZENS DEFENSE LEAGUE
WINS PARTIAL VICTORY IN RECENTLY FILED LAWSUIT
SOUTHBURY, CT – The Connecticut Citizens Defense League (CCDL) announced today that since it filed a
federal lawsuit against the City of Bridgeport for illegally delaying firearm permit applications, Bridgeport
has changed its practices to allow applicants a far quicker application process.
At the end of August, CCDL was forced to bring suit against the police chiefs of Bridgeport, Hartford, New
Haven, and Waterbury after learning that these officials were unjustifiably delaying law-abiding city
residents’ applications for municipal firearm permits, the first step in applying for a state-issued pistol
permit.
In that case, Bridgeport resident Anne Cordero had been trying to submit her application for a municipal
firearm permit to the Bridgeport Police Department since last year. In June, the Bridgeport Police
Department finally instructed her to sign up for an appointment to submit her application. However, when
she tried to sign up, she was informed that Bridgeport’s first available appointment just to submit her
application was in late January 2022. Other Bridgeport residents have experienced similar delays.
Last week, in the wake of CCDL’s lawsuit, the Bridgeport Police Department contacted the many
Bridgeport residents to whom it previously gave lengthy wait times, and offered them much quicker dates,
including later this month.
“Bridgeport’s about-face is clearly the result of CCDL’s lawsuit, and another victory for law abiding citizens
across Connecticut. Bridgeport residents have been suffering inordinately long wait times just to apply for
a permit. Months ago, we reached out to the city and asked it to bring its permitting system in line with
the law, warning that if it did not, CCDL would be forced to take legal action. It is unfortunate that
Bridgeport’s continued violations of state law and its residents’ constitutional rights, forced CCDL to file
suit. Hopefully, this is a sign that the Bridgeport Police Department will follow the law going forward.
However, while it appears lawful Bridgeport residents can now apply for firearms permits in a timely
manner, we will be watching how long it takes the city to process those applications, which has also been
an ongoing problem there,” said Holly Sullivan, CCDL President.
Connecticut Citizens Defense League, Inc. is a non-profit, non-partisan, grassroots organization of more
than 41,000 members, committed to protecting the unalienable constitutional right of all citizens to keep
and bear arms through legislative and grassroots advocacy, education, research, publishing, legal action
and programs.
The federal civil rights lawsuit addressed above is officially known as Connecticut Citizens Defense League,
Inc., et al. v. Jason Thody, et al. The Plaintiffs are represented by Attorney Doug Dubitsky and Attorney
Craig Fishbein.
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