PHILADELPHIA – Gun control has rarely been an issue in a presidential campaign, but with the help of some advocates from Connecticut, it is front and center at the Democratic National Convention.
Gun Reform
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CT delegates head to Philly seeking unity – and an end for Trump
WASHINGTON — Connecticut Democrats at their party’s convention in Philadelphia probably won’t face the kind of drama displayed at last week’s Republican gathering in Cleveland, with its charges of plagiarism in Melania Trump’s speech and a floor fight by anti-Trump forces — but they won’t be spared controversy.
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Murphy starts new campaign fund to help gun control candidates
WASHINGTON – Since Congress won’t pass any new gun control legislation, Sen. Chris Murphy and two Senate colleagues are taking another tack – raising money for candidates who will support these bills in the next Congress.
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Amid Democratic discord, Malloy takes reins of party platform committee
Gov. Dannel Malloy presided Friday over the Democratic Platform Committee meeting in Orlando, Fla., an event held under the pall of the shooting deaths of five police officers the night before in Dallas and shootings this week by police officers of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana. The platform is usually overshadowed by the drama of officially nominating candidates for president and vice president at the convention. But not this year.
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After Dallas shooting, Murphy knocks Congress for inaction on gun control
WASHINGTON — Connecticut’s members of Congress called for calm, prayers, healing and justice in the wake of the shooting of five police officers in Dallas and the slaying by police of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana. But Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., also slammed Congress for inaction on gun control.
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House passes mental health bill, Murphy presses Senate to follow
WASHINGTON — As the U.S. House of Representatives passed an overhaul of federal mental health policy on Wednesday, Sen. Chris Murphy pressed for a Senate vote on a similar bipartisan bill he has sponsored with Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.
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Larson, Lewis meet with Speaker Ryan, but no deal on gun bills vote
WASHINGTON – Democratic U.S. Reps. John Larson and John Lewis met with House Speaker Paul Ryan late Tuesday, and receiving no assurances that votes would be held on gun control legislation, said they will continue their campaign to pressure House GOP leaders.
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A ‘day of action’ on both sides of America’s divide over firearms
FARMINGTON – If the gun lobby has a soft underbelly, congressional Democrats and their allies seem to be betting it is the refusal to compromise, especially on the issue of whether individuals barred from commercial airlines as a security risk should be able to purchase firearms.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Orlando victims look to Sandy Hook lawsuit against gun maker
WASHINGTON — Families of those massacred in an Orlando nightclub are weighing whether to follow the Sandy Hook families that have filed a lawsuit against makers of assault rifles like the one Adam Lanza used to kill 20 first graders and six adults.
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New gun laws virtually dead this year, CT lawmakers concede
After a 15-hour filibuster in the U.S. Senate and a 26-hour sit-in on the floor of the U.S. House in the past week and a half, members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation conceded Friday that new gun legislation is probably dead in 2016.
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Larson plotted House revolt clandestinely with Lewis
WASHINGTON – Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis was the face of the unprecedented uprising by House Democrats seeking votes on gun control measures, but it was Rep. John Larson who was the behind-the-scenes planner of the insurrection and who kept it on course for more than 16 hours.
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GOP cuts off Dems’ revolt, CT lawmakers say they won’t quit
Updated at 2 p.m.
WASHINGTON — House Republicans pulled the plug on a revolt by Democrats led by Connecticut Rep. John Larson and civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis by adjourning in the middle of the night for the long July 4th break. Larson and other Democrats vowed to continue fighting for votes on gun control measures.
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New chance for ‘terror gap’ gun bill
WASHINGTON – After the Senate voted down four gun control bills inspired by the Orlando massacre, a compromise emerged that would prevent those suspected of terrorist ties from purchasing weapons – and Connecticut’s senators say that’s encouraging.
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Senate rejects Murphy background-check provision and ‘terror gap’ bill
Updated at 9:28 p.m.
WASHINGTON — For the second time since the slaughter at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the U.S. Senate has rejected an effort to expand FBI background checks of gun purchasers. Lawmakers also killed an effort to bar those on the terrorist watch list from purchasing weapons, as well as two competing GOP proposals.
Posted inJustice, Politics
U.S. Supreme Court declines to consider Sandy Hook gun ban
The U.S. Supreme Court declined without comment Monday to consider a challenge by Connecticut gun owners to gun controls the state passed in response to the shooting deaths of 26 children and staff at Sandy Hook elementary school by a gunman armed with an AR-15, 30-round magazines and high-powered ammo.