diff --git a/Lib/httplib.py b/Lib/httplib.py
index 5ae5efc..403e4ee 100644
--- a/Lib/httplib.py
+++ b/Lib/httplib.py
@@ -926,8 +926,8 @@
         self.__state = _CS_IDLE
 
         if response.will_close:
-            # Pass the socket to the response
-            self.sock = None
+            # this effectively passes the connection to the response
+            self.close()
         else:
             # remember this, so we can tell when it is complete
             self.__response = response