Connecticut Laws Upheld in Big Defeat for Gun Rights

boston dot com A federal judge has dismissed a gun industry group lawsuit challenging a wide-ranging firearms law passed by Connecticut in response to the shooting deaths of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven ruled Monday that the Newtown-based National Shooting Sports Foundation Inc. does not have legal standing to challenge how the legislature and governor approved the law in April. The foundation sued Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, legislative leaders and other officials in July, claiming the ‘‘emergency’’ legislation was approved illegally without proper public input, without time for adequate review by lawmakers and without an explanation of why the usual legislative process needed to be bypassed. The law, which expanded a ban on assault weapons and prohibits large-capacity ammunition magazines, still faces other legal challenges by gun rights advocates. The National Shooting Sports Foundation is considering whether to appeal Hall’s ruling to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, said Lawrence Keane, the foundation’s senior vice president and general counsel. ‘‘We’re obviously disappointed,’’ Keane said Tuesday. ‘‘The legislature voted on a 139-page bill that they never read, and we were denied our First Amendment right to advocate for changes in the actual bill that was voted on.’’