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.
Sandy Hook
On Dec. 14, 2012, a gunman shot and killed 20 children and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
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.
Posted inPolitics
‘Enough is Enough,’ CT marchers tell Washington
WASHINGTON — The March for Our Lives attracted thousands of students and supporters from Connecticut and hundreds of thousands from across the nation demanding change – not only in the nation’s gun laws but the makeup of Congress. Organized by students after 17 people were killed at a Parkland, Fla., high school last month, it also mobilized activists who have been fighting gun violence since 20 schoolchildren and six educators were slaughtered in Newtown a little more than five years ago.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Rubio to introduce ‘red-flag’ bill, as will Blumenthal
WASHINGTON — Sen. Marco Rubio on Wednesday said he is introducing a bill that would provide federal grants to states for establishing gun violence restraining orders – and said he doubted a broader one Sen. Richard Blumenthal plans to introduce Thursday would pass the Senate.
Posted inJustice
Trump asks Murphy to help draft ‘comprehensive’ gun bill
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he wanted Sen. Chris Murphy to join three Senate colleagues in drafting a “comprehensive” gun bill that is “very powerful” on expansion of the FBI background check system for gun buyers. “We are determined to turn grief into action,” Trump said at a White House gathering with lawmakers to discuss ways to combat gun violence.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Despite Parkland, gun control push faces wave of opposition in Congress
WASHINGTON — Despite President Donald Trump’s willingness to support modest tweaks to the nation’s gun laws, Congress may not approve much change as lawmakers remain entrenched in a mostly partisan split over the issue, despite the national debate touched off over the Parkland, Fla., massacre.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Sandy Hook parents tell Trump there’s no need to arm teachers
WASHINGTON — The parents of two children who lost their lives in the Sandy Hook school shooting told President Donald Trump the nation does not need to arm teachers, but should prevent mass shootings by training teachers to respond when a child displays certain signs of trouble. “Sandy Hook Promise has created something that works,” said Mark Barden, holding up a photo of his slain 6-year-old son Daniel.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Trump pushes for ‘bump stock’ ban, but Malloy, others skeptical
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump directed Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday to propose regulations that would ban bump stocks and similar devices “that turn legal weapons into machine guns.” But proponents of stricter federal gun regulations, including Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, are skeptical of Trump’s initiative.
Posted inJustice, Politics
School massacre provokes calls for ‘red flag’ laws like one CT pioneered
WASHINGTON — The school shooting in Parkland, Fla., has opened a debate on whether more states should do what Connecticut was first to do — pass laws that allow the confiscation of weapons from those who are believed to be a danger to others and themselves.
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
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
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
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.