Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced Thursday his plans to use an executive order to ban gun sales within the state to those on federal no-fly watch lists.
The Democratic governor said that his order would make Connecticut the first state to enact such a measure.
"Like all Americans, I have been horrified by the recent terrorist attacks in San Bernardino and Paris," Malloy said, according to The Associated Press. "They have been and should be a wake-up call to our nation. I am taking this common sense step with this executive order simply because it's the right thing to do. It's the smart thing to do."
"Why anyone would stand idly by and knowingly allow those on government watch lists to purchase guns is truly unbelievable," Malloy added. "Since Congress so far has failed to act, we will."
"I have previously written to Congress on this matter,” said Malloy, reported The New York Times. “But inaction is not an option. So here in Connecticut, we are acting.”
Malloy's call follows the events in San Bernardino, Calif., last week, which drew attention to the nexus of terrorism and gun laws.
In a Sunday speech from the Oval Office, President Barack Obama called for federal regulations that would ban those on the federal no-fly list from buying guns.
"What could possibly be the argument for allowing a terrorist suspect to buy a semiautomatic weapon?" said Obama. "This is a matter of national security."
U.S. Rep. John Larson, a Democrat representing the state's First District, also supports Malloy's plan.
"I commend Governor Malloy for taking executive action where Congress has failed to do the same," said Larson, according to NBC News. "Keeping guns out of the hands of suspected terrorists is just common sense, and it is crucial to keeping our communities safe."
However, it could be difficult for federal and state authorities to agree on how much information should be shared to make the measure effective.
Connecticut is already considered to have some of the nation's strictest gun laws, many of which were put into place in 2013 following the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown in 2012. In that attack, 20-year-old Adam Lanza killed 20 schoolchildren and six staff members before fatally shooting himself.
