Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Newtown-bred activists partner with national gun-control groups

  • by Ana Radelat
  • March 12, 2013
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

Washington — The 26 gun control activists who biked from Newtown to Washington, arriving Tuesday, belong to a growing group of Newtown residents who, with the help of national groups, are becoming a lobbying force on Capitol Hill.

The residents and family members of the 26 killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings are a powerful reminder of the tragedy for lawmakers and reporters, who sometimes have short attention spans.

They hold press conferences, testify and pack audiences at hearings and personally lobby lawmakers. The 400-mile bicycle trip to Capitol Hill was just their latest tactic.

But grass-roots groups like the Newtown bicyclists aren’t doing it all on their own. National gun control groups who have fought for years, largely unsuccessfully, to tighten federal gun laws are providing guidance and a way to broadcast their message.

In return, the gun-control groups have some very effective new advocates for their cause.

Monte Frank, a Danbury attorney and board member of the Newtown Action Alliance, said he came up with the idea of the long-distance bike ride in the middle of a sleepless night.

“I was thinking, ‘What can we do to raise awareness?”’ he said.

The alliance was formed earlier this year by a group of Newtown residents, family members of victims and others in Connecticut who wanted to tighten gun laws in the state and across the country.

Frank said the Newtown Action Alliance is working with a number of national groups, including the Coalition To Stop Gun Violence, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Americans for Responsible Solutions, a new group founded by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a Tucson, Ariz., shooting victim.

“We have all been working in a collaborative way to get Congress to act,” Frank said.

Coalition To Stop Gun Violence spokesman Ladd Everett said 34 members of the Newtown Action Alliance who packed a Senate hearing on a proposed assault weapons ban earlier this month had attended a legislative meeting held by his group the night before.

Members of the coalition also accompanied the Newtown visitors when they made their rounds of lawmakers’ offices, Everett said.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns sponsored the trip of Lynn and Chris McDonnell, parents of 6-year-old Sandy Hook victim Grace McDonnell, when they spoke at a Capitol Hill press conference with other gun violence victims in January.

“We’ve been working with survivors for a long time,” said Erika Soto Lamb, spokeswoman for Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

Sandy Hook Promise, another Newtown-based group, is also part of the growing coalition.

These grass-roots groups benefit from the national groups’ “institutional knowledge,” Lamb said.

“They might not know which members of Congress are important to talk to,” she said. “We give strategic advice.”

Miranda Pacchiana, an organizer of the Newtown Action Alliance whose children once attended Sandy Hook Elementary School, said working with national groups extends her group’s reach to like-minded people in other states — and their lawmakers.

“Because we’re a grass-roots organization, we’re interested in going national,” she said.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ana Radelat

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
CT Democrats to propose beefed-up spending plan
by Keith M. Phaneuf

The Appropriations Committee will propose a two-year state spending plan Wednesday that bolsters municipal aid, higher education and social services.

One step Connecticut can take to address our maternal mortality crisis
by Myechia Minter-Jordan, MD

Uncertainty. Fear. Worry. These are just a few of the thoughts and emotions that run through the minds of almost every expecting parent. And for many expecting Black parents, those feelings can be more acute. That’s because for far too many, having a child is a life and death struggle.

Connecticut lawmakers on aid in dying: two decades of delay, deferral, obstruction
by Paul Bluestein, MD

Very soon, members of the Connecticut House and Senate will be voting on HB6425, - the Medical Aid in Dying bill. More than 20 years ago, Oregon implemented its Death with Dignity Act. Since then, Washington, Vermont, California, Montana, Colorado, Maine, Washington DC, Hawaii and most recently New Mexico have passed legislation authorizing medical aid in dying for terminally ill adults. But not Connecticut.

The intersection of race, class and gender in America’s childcare system: The class edition
by Georgia Goldburn

When Michelle Obama declared that she wanted to become “Mom in Chief,” she spoke to a sentiment shared by many women, i.e. the desire to be the primary caregiver of their young children in their early years. Not unexpectedly, Mrs. Obama was derided for making that choice, highlighting how society stands ready to indict women […]

A 71-year-old white woman has a request of the police
by Maggie Goodwin

Please officer, begin to look at every traffic stop and nonviolent police intervention as one where you will meet me, a white-haired 71-year-old retired social worker.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion One step Connecticut can take to address our maternal mortality crisis
by Myechia Minter-Jordan, MD

Uncertainty. Fear. Worry. These are just a few of the thoughts and emotions that run through the minds of almost every expecting parent. And for many expecting Black parents, those feelings can be more acute. That’s because for far too many, having a child is a life and death struggle.

Opinion Connecticut lawmakers on aid in dying: two decades of delay, deferral, obstruction
by Paul Bluestein, MD

Very soon, members of the Connecticut House and Senate will be voting on HB6425, - the Medical Aid in Dying bill. More than 20 years ago, Oregon implemented its Death with Dignity Act. Since then, Washington, Vermont, California, Montana, Colorado, Maine, Washington DC, Hawaii and most recently New Mexico have passed legislation authorizing medical aid in dying for terminally ill adults. But not Connecticut.

Opinion The intersection of race, class and gender in America’s childcare system: The class edition
by Georgia Goldburn

When Michelle Obama declared that she wanted to become “Mom in Chief,” she spoke to a sentiment shared by many women, i.e. the desire to be the primary caregiver of their young children in their early years. Not unexpectedly, Mrs. Obama was derided for making that choice, highlighting how society stands ready to indict women […]

Opinion A progressive income tax to re-align Connecticut’s moral compass
by Ezra Kaprov

Redistribution of wealth and property is a fundamental and missing pillar of the hope for multi-racial democracy in the United States.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO