Connecticut was one of a half-dozen states whose rates of gun deaths fell after a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2008 establishing a Second Amendment right to keep firearms in the home for self-defense, according to a study released Wednesday by the Violence Policy Center, a group that advocates gun-control measures.
Gun Reform
Posted inJustice, Politics
Malloy, a lame duck, takes aim at ‘bump stocks’
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Tuesday rolled out the first legislative initiative of his last year in office: A ban on the bump-stock accessories that enabled the Las Vegas shooter to convert a dozen semi-automatic rifles into machine guns he used in an assault that killed 58 and wounded 500 in 11 minutes.
Posted inPolitics
Newtown tragedy creates new political movement
About 400 members of Moms Demand Action, a gun control group that was formed the day after the Dec. 14, 2012, Sandy Hook elementary school shooting, say they are interested in running for office, and many may do so next year.
Posted inJustice, Politics
CT lawmakers, NRA back gun buyer background check bill
WASHINGTON – Rep. Elizabeth Esty, usually at odds with gun rights groups over firearm legislation, is promoting a bill that the National Rifle Association likes, too. Esty, D-5th District, is a co-sponsor of the U.S. House version of the “Fix NICS Act of 2017,” legislation that aims to prevent individuals like the shooter in Sutherland, Texas, from slipping through the cracks of the federal gun buyer background check system.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Murphy, Blumenthal team up with GOP leader on new gun bill
Updated qt 5:20 p.m.
Sen. Chris Murphy teamed up with a Republican colleague who is usually on the opposite side of the gun control debate, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, to introduce a bill Thursday that would improve federal background checks of prospective gun buyers.
Posted inJustice
Sandy Hook families get day in court on claims against gunmaker
Justices of the Connecticut Supreme Court aggressively questioned a gunmaker’s lawyer Tuesday about the marketing of the AR-15 rifle used to kill 26 children and educators at the Sandy Hook School in 2012, giving families of the victims hope the court will revive their liability claims against Remington Arms that were dismissed by a trial judge.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Texas shooting leads to move to reform gun buyer background checks
WASHINGTON – Texas shooter Devin Kelly is a prime example of a failure of the the existing gun background check system, and his killing spree on Sunday may bring small reforms. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., says he has a commitment from a key GOP leader to work toward a bipartisan fix to the law that should have prevented Kelly from buying the guns he may have used in his attack.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Malloy says many accept mass shootings rather than gun control
The fatal shootings of 26 worshippers Sunday at a church in Sutherland Springs, Tex., are a price many Americans are willing to pay before accepting limits on their ability to purchase and own firearms, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Monday.
Posted inPolitics
Murphy introduces background-check gun bill as ‘long-haul strategy’
WASHINGTON — Sen. Chris Murphy on Wednesday reintroduced a background-check gun bill he’s been trying to make law since a gunman killed 20 first graders and six educators in Newtown at the end of 2012. The political climate for the bill is no better now, however, than when the Senate rejected it in 2013 and 2016.
Posted inPolitics
CT lawmakers keep introducing gun control bills, but face uphill climb
WASHINGTON — Rep. Elizabeth Esty, who represents Newtown in Congress, on Thursday was the latest lawmaker to introduce a bill aimed at curbing gun deaths. Although the number of bills in Congress that would tighten regulations on firearms is growing, there’s no indication the political climate on Capitol Hill is becoming more favorable to gun control, even after the Las Vegas massacre.
Posted inJustice, Politics
GOP blasts Dems for ‘politicizing’ Las Vegas as CT lawmakers continue gun control push
WASHINGTON — The Las Vegas shooting on Sunday has widened the fissure between congressional Democrats – who have renewed a push for gun control legislation – and Republicans who are condemning their political rivals for “politicizing” the issue.
Posted inJustice, Politics
CT lawmakers lead new gun control push in wake of Las Vegas massacre
WASHINGTON — Reacting to the horror of the mass slaying in Las Vegas late Sunday, and led by Connecticut’s lawmakers, there’s a new push in Congress to reintroduce gun control bills that failed in the past. Though the fate of those bills in uncertain, “there’s a sense that enough is enough,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Connecticut to Nevada: Sharing condolences, hard lessons
It’s a select club of unhappy conscripts, and membership comes with responsibilities. It meant reaching out to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy after the massacre of 26 children and educators at Sandy Hook nearly five years ago. On Monday, it was Malloy’s turn. He called the mayor of Las Vegas and governor of Nevada to offer condolences and assistance.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Murphy calls fellow lawmakers ‘cowards’ on gun control after Las Vegas shooting
Updated at 7:30 p.m.
Connecticut Democrats were among the first to renew calls for Congress to act on gun control after a mass shooting in Las Vegas late Sunday left at least 59 dead and more than 500 wounded.
Posted inPolitics
CT lawmakers react in horror to shootings at GOP baseball practice
Updated at 3 p.m.
Washington – Connecticut lawmakers, for whom gun violence has a personal edge because of the Newtown shootings, reacted with shock and horror at a gunman’s attack on a Republican congressional baseball practice early Wednesday. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., the House majority whip, was among those shot. The gunman, who was identified as James Hodgkinson of Illinois, also was shot and later died.