WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s election to the White House has ushered in a political reality, putting gun control advocates on the defensive as the National Rifle Association proclaims “this is our time” to weaken or eliminate gun regulations.
Gun Reform
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Trump agenda clashes with that of CT lawmakers
WASHINGTON – The day after Donald Trump’s stunning victory, Connecticut lawmakers said they would give the new president-elect a honeymoon period, but it may be short lived.
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Esty, Cope differ sharply, and sometimes agree, in a civil race
WASHINGTON — Overshadowed like other congressional races in Connecticut by the loud and vitriolic presidential race, the matchup between Democratic Rep. Elizabeth Esty and GOP challenger Clay Cope has been a civil contest between party moderates.
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Blumenthal-Carter contest a quiet race in a stormy election year
WASHINGTON — While the odds that Sen. Richard Blumenthal will be re-elected are among the highest in this year’s U.S. Senate races, he’s also under constant fire from a Republican opponent, state Rep. Dan Carter, who has laid siege to the popular Democrat.
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Esty and Cope disagree, if amiably, on gun control and climate change
DANBURY — America’s approach to regulating the sale of guns was the brightest line dividing U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5th District, and Republican Clay Cope, on Thursday in the first debate of what’s been an unexpectedly quiet congressional campaign. Another wedge issue was climate change: Cope is unsure about its cause, saying, “I’m not a scientist.”
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Murphy, other gun control advocates, in search of political wins
WASHINGTON — This political season, gun control advocates are bolstered by Hillary Clinton’s embrace of their issue and an increase in the political cash they’ve raised, even as they continue to be outgunned by the National Rifle Association when it comes to campaign spending.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Murphy, stumping in Ohio for Clinton, Strickland, presses gun control
WASHINGTON — Sen. Chris Murphy is testing the political effectiveness of his push for stricter gun laws in Ohio, a battleground for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump and a state that could help decide control of the Senate. In an odd pairing, Murphy is trying to help elect Ted Strickland, a Democrat who was once one of the fiercest defenders of Second Amendment rights on Capitol Hill.
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Murphy Q&A: Congress ‘is a place that’s fundamentally broken’
WASHINGTON — Freshmen senators, especially those belonging to the party out of power in the chamber, generally keep a low profile in deference to their elders. But Sen. Chris Murphy has clearly broken with tradition. The Connecticut Mirror interviewed the senator about his relatively short, but very busy, time in the Senate and his plans for the future.
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House GOP grapples with how to punish Larson, other sit-in participants
WASHINGTON — Pressed by the conservative wing of their party, House GOP leaders discussed options this week to punish Rep. John Larson and other Democrats who staged a sit-in on the House floor to protest the lack of action on gun control measures, but they’ve yet to unveil a strategy.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
The NRA’s embrace of Tyrant Trump
In case there were any doubts about the NRA’s noble political arguments for expansive gun rights, the gun lobby’s embrace of Donald Trump should sweep them away. The NRA always reminds us that it puts ‘freedom first,’ but in truth, it cares not a whit about our democracy and basic rights; its only concern is to expand the gun market, at any cost. What’s more, in sticking by the disastrous and openly racist Trump campaign, the NRA risks alienating itself and its agenda—perhaps fatally.
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Challenger Carter steadily attacks, but Blumenthal remains aloof
WASHINGTON — The campaign tactics of Sen. Richard Blumenthal and his Republican challenger, state Rep. Dan Carter, are as different as they can be in politics. Blumenthal has largely ignored his challenger, while Carter is waging a death-by-a-thousand-cuts campaign, launching a blizzard of attacks.
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The Gatling gun and other tools to limit bloodshed
Dr. Richard Gatling lived in a Hartford mansion overlooking the Colt Firearms factory in Dutch Point. His 1861 invention– the first WMD — was built by the Colt company while it was being run by Samuel Colt’s widow Elizabeth. The good doctor said he wanted to limit bloodshed in war, so he created a machine of death powerful enough to scare away the enemy. Also, the gun could limit battlefield deaths, Gatling argued, because we wouldn’t need so many soldiers.
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Corey hopes third try is charm in ousting Larson
WASHINGTON — Since he was first elected to represent a Hartford-based congressional district in 1998, Rep. John Larson has not had a serious challenge from a GOP opponent and – if fundraising and history are any measures – it looks like his winning record will continue this year. Yet Matthew Corey, a business owner from Manchester, says Larson has failed in a key mission – stopping the bleeding of jobs in the 1st District. He hopes his third try at unseating Larson is a charm.
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As Sandy Hook school opens, senators say gun legislation on hold
Hours before the opening of a new elementary school in Newtown to replace the one where a lone gunman killed 26 people nearly four years earlier, Connecticut’s two U.S. senators said Friday action on gun control will probably not come until after the November elections.
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Murphy raises gun control – and his profile – at convention
PHILADELPHIA — Sen. Chris Murphy’s impassioned, prime time speech on gun control Wednesday helped the Democratic Party showcase its commitment on the issue and helped raise a profile that has been elevated since he led a filibuster on the Senate floor to press GOP leaders to hold votes on gun legislation.
