WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes began her congressional career Thursday kissing babies, casting votes to reopen the partially shuttered federal government and keeping watch for news about a daughter who was due at any minute to give birth. But the new lawmaker also hit some snags in this day of pomp and celebration.
Gun Reform
Posted inEducation
School safety report calls for end to Obama discipline guidance, arming school staff
WASHINGTON – A federal commission created after the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., and led by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, recommends rescinding Obama-era policy aimed at reducing racial discrimination when students are disciplined and offered little on gun control.
Posted inPolitics
Esty says farewell to Congress in final speech
WASHINGTON– Rep. Elizabeth Esty gave her last speech on the U.S. House floor on Tuesday, saying “Congress was not my dream, but making a difference was.” Esty has represented the 5th congressional district since 2013, but decided against running for re-election.
Posted inPolitics
Esty prepares to leave Congress — and politics
WASHINGTON – Many lawmakers who will retire at the end of this Congress or have lost re-election have shuttered their offices and gone home. Not so Connecticut Democrat, U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty. While she is determined to work to the last moment, without an office or staff, Esty says she’s done with politics.
Posted inJustice
Gun control advocates optimistic new Congress will act on their agenda
WASHINGTON – Every year gun control activists from Newtown gather here to condemn congressional inaction on legislation they think will keep Americans safe. This year the mood at the gathering was quite different as gun control advocates are counting on the support of new members who ran — and won — on gun control and helped flip the U.S. House to Democratic control..
Posted inJustice
Advocates place gun storage measure among top legislative priorities
A measure to tighten Connecticut’s firearm storage law is expected to be on a shortlist of gun reform bills tackled in the upcoming legislative session. The proposal will likely come amid advocates’ attempts to shepherd other legislation banning untraceable ghost guns and 3D-printed plastic guns through the legislative process.
Posted inPolitics
Hayes learning the ropes in Congress as part of a diverse freshman class
WASHINGTON – Cloistered in a hotel a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol, Rep.-elect Jahana Hayes and dozens of incoming members of the next Congress are learning the ropes of their new jobs and getting to know the colleagues they will work with – and sometimes fight with—next year.
Posted inPolitics
Conn. Dems close on heath care, the economy — and Trump
WASHINGTON – The closing argument Connecticut’s congressional delegation is making in this historic midterm election hews closely to Democratic messaging about health care and the economy — but they are also making President Donald Trump a focus of their last-minute campaigning.
Posted inPolitics
Democrats: Does Connecticut want an NRA-endorsed governor?
A weekend of grieving the shooting deaths of 11 worshipers at a Pittsburgh synagogue gave way Monday to a hard push by Democrats to highlight Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski’s support from the NRA and the state’s largest gun-owners’ group, the Connecticut Citizens Defense League. “A governor with an A rating from the NRA elected in Connecticut? That’s the national headline,” said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal.
Posted inPolitics
Murphy helps raise campaign cash to defeat NRA-backed Republicans
WASHINGTON – Sen. Chris Murphy will join other gun control advocates and coalition of progressive groups in a one-day fundraising effort for eight Democrats hoping to defeat Republican incumbents with “A” ratings from the National Rifle Association in November’s mid-term elections. It’s an effort show the gun control lobby has political clout, and help flip the U.S. House — and maybe also the Senate — to Democratic control.
Posted inJustice
Blumenthal: ‘Sparks will fly’ at Kavanaugh hearing
WASHINGTON – Sen. Richard Blumenthal will be at the center of what is expected to be a historic partisan firefight this week over the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Blumenthal plans to use his skills as a former litigator and what he knows as a former Supreme Court law clerk to persuade colleagues Kavanaugh is out of the mainstream when it comes to legal thought and would set the high court on a rightward course for decades.
Posted inEducation
Murphy tries to block DeVos from using federal funds to arm teachers
WASHINGTON – The possibility the Trump administration would allow the use of federal funds to arm teachers prompted Sen. Chris Murphy on Thursday to try to block the move through legislation. It may be a long-shot effort, but it’s leading Democratic opposition to the plan.
Posted inJustice
Parkland students take last leg of national bus tour to Newtown
NEWTOWN – Activist students from Parkland, Florida made this Connecticut town the symbolic last stop of a nationwide bus tour on Sunday during their full-steam quest to galvanize young adults to vote for candidates who support stricter gun laws.
Posted inPolitics
Hayes, Glassman, other pols search for votes at Newtown rally
Newtown – In the homestretch of primary races, Sunday’s March for Our Lives rally here was the place to be for Democratic candidates hoping to round up last-minute votes and extol voters to show up at the polls on Tuesday.
Posted inPolitics
Parkland students bringing campaign for gun law changes to Newtown
When a busload of Parkland, Fla., high school gun control activists arrives in Newtown on Sunday, they will be completing an emotional tour of 50 cities, some the sites of the nation’s grisliest mass shootings, in an effort to create political change. Besides influencing public opinion, the students are also seeking to register young voters who will help their cause.