April saw a 52% increase in domestic violence hotline calls, advocates say.
Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Posted inJustice
Domestic violence bill wins final passage in Senate
The Connecticut Senate voted 23 to 13 Monday for final passage of a bill proposed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy that will require gun owners to surrender their firearms within 24 hours of being served with a temporary restraining order in domestic violence cases.
Posted inJustice
House conservatives lose battle to block domestic violence law
By a surprisingly strong vote, the House of Representatives overcame tenacious opposition from conservatives Wednesday night to pass and send to the Senate a bill requiring gun owners to surrender their firearms within 24 hours of being served with a temporary restraining order in domestic violence cases. The fight had drawn the notice of the White House.
Posted inJustice, Politics
GOP legislators challenge Malloy’s domestic violence bill
Republican legislators grilled Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s top legal advisers for hours Monday during a public hearing on an administration proposal that sets the safety of domestic violence victims against the rights of gun owners.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Safe Child Act: Making health, safety of CT children the priority
The Safe Child Act which is a bill that would require custody courts to make the health and safety of children the first priority. It would mandate what the courts have been slow to do — integrate evidence-based approaches, multi-disciplinary practices and trauma-informed responses. I have had the privilege of meeting with some state legislators who care dearly about children and I expect will soon introduce the Safe Child Act. It is time that custody courts stop practices that pressure victims to cooperate with their abusers and instead force abusers to stop their abuse if they want a relationship with their children. It is time for the courts to integrate important research into their practices. It is time to reform outdated practices from the 1970s.
Posted inNews
Court warned of ‘life and death’ stakes in domestic cases
The Connecticut Supreme Court heard a public interest appeal Tuesday intended to clarify whether applications for restraining orders in family-violence cases ever can be denied without a hearing. “This isn’t a technicality,” Linda Allard of Greater Hartford Legal Aid told the court. “This is about life and death.”
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Connecticut women’s lives depend on fate of firearms removal bill
Two bills currently before the legislature would greatly expand protections for victims of domestic violence by ensuring that if a judge determines a victim is in imminent danger and grants a temporary restraining order, all firearms must be taken away from the person being served with the order. It’s time Connecticut closed a dangerous and unnecessary loophole that jeopardizes women’s safety and security in the home.
Posted inPolitics
Victim’s family asks for vote on domestic violence bill
The Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence quickly mobilized Saturday night to press a wavering House leadership to call a vote on legislation intended to allow police to temporarily disarm persons served with temporary restraining orders.
Posted inEducation
Children of domestic violence: ‘Daddy shooted mommy’
Following child-witnessed homicides in Bristol and Oxford in less than two months, representatives of domestic abuse service agencies from across Connecticut are talking about ways to improve services for children in violent households.