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.
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.
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Blumenthal has long lead on Carter in fundraising
WASHINGTON — Sen. Richard Blumenthal has raised more than $7 million for his re-election effort, outpacing his GOP rival, state Rep. Dan Carter, who has raised $85,517, the latest filings with the Federal Elections Commission show.
Posted inHealth
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.
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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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.
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With talkathon, Murphy gambled – and won
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy gambled that he was up to the physical and intellectual rigors of an open-ended filibuster aimed at pressuring Senate GOP leaders to hold votes on gun safety issues – and he won. But there was always a risk of failure.
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Murphy ends filibuster saying two gun measures will get votes
WASHINGTON — Nearly 15 hours after he launched a filibuster to pressure GOP colleagues to allow votes on gun safety measures, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy said there had been an agreement to vote on measures barring those on a terrorist watch list from purchasing firearms and expanding background checks.
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Push intensifies for terror-list gun bill backed by CT lawmakers
WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats, including those representing Connecticut, escalated the pressure on GOP colleagues Tuesday to revisit and pass legislation that would prohibit those on the federal terror list from purchasing a gun.
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CT lawmakers hope Orlando is a ‘tipping point’ on gun control
WASHINGTON — Gun control advocates in Congress, with Connecticut’s lawmakers taking a lead, are hoping the massacre in Orlando is a “tipping point” that overcomes the deep resistance in Congress to strengthening the nation’s federal gun law. Political points may be scored, but it’s not likely Congress will budge.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Obama: ‘We will not give in to fear or turn against each other’
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy ordered flags lowered to half-staff Sunday as Connecticut joined President Obama and the nation in mourning the murders of 50 people in an Orlando, Fla., nightclub, an act of terror and the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. Some Democrats quickly called for Congress to strengthen measures aimed at preventing gun violence.
Posted inPolitics
Malloy: No regrets for remarks that infuriated Bernie Sanders
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy strained Friday to avoid escalating his profile as an irritant to Bernie Sanders and a potential impediment to Sanders’ eventual endorsement of the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton. He said he did not regret his criticism of Sanders, only that the senator took exception.
