Democratic Connecticut Attorney General William Tong’s office is seeking free help to sue gun companies, according to a July 17 request for proposals — but the document has a weird criterion for picking out who he wants to work with.
The RFP from Tong’s office included some unusual requests, including asking firms to explain their efforts to promote “diversity,” listing “Workforce diversity, as evidence by the contractor’s current workforce diversity and its explanation of its current diversity and any plans or efforts it describes to improve or broaden its diversity” as one of its selection criteria.
Democratic Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed HB5043, the legislation banning Glocks by labeling them as “machine gun convertible pistols” into on law May 26, according to the Connecticut General Assembly’s website. Pro-Second Amendment organizations filed suit to block the legislation almost immediately, arguing that its blanket ban on the popular semiautomatic pistols was unconstitutional.
“Discuss the extent to which your workforce, at the attorney level, at the other professional staff level, and at the other support staff level, reflects or does not reflect the diversity of your community and its surrounding area,” the proposal states. “To the extent that your workforce does not fully reflect the diversity of your community, discuss and explain the action, if any, you have taken and are taking to achieve staffing that is more reflective of the diversity of your community and the results of those efforts.”
“The State of Connecticut, Office of the Attorney General (‘OAG’), is seeking proposals to provide certain legal services to the State of Connecticut, under the strict supervision of the ATTORNEY GENERAL, with investigations, potential litigation and legislative proposals concerning gun violence prevention matters and firearms industry accountability,” the document says, adding a list of services that would be provided, preferably on a pro bono basis, although it did allow for “hourly fees.”
Tong did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Firearms litigation has exploded since the Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which invalidated the Empire State’s “discretionary” system for issuing concealed carry permits. Since the 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court handed pro-Second Amendment organizations victories in Wolford v. Lopez and Hemani v. United States, while the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued an “en banc” ruling that invalidated the ban on modern semiautomatic firearms passed by New Jersey on July 17.
In addition to trying to ban Glocks and similar pistols over the use of so-called “Glock switches,” some states are suing the manufacturer. Minnesota and New Jersey filed their suits in December 2024, while Maryland filed suit in February 2025. New Jersey is using an outside law firm based in New York City to assist with their litigation against the firearms manufacturer.
(DCNF)