Newtown Action Alliance Endorses Ned Lamont for Governor of Connecticut

For Immediate Release
October 23, 2018

 Press Contact:
John Kelley
917-679-6475
jkelley@newtownaction.org

Newtown Action Alliance Endorses Ned Lamont for Governor of Connecticut 

Newtown, CT - The Newtown Action Alliance is proud to endorse Ned Lamont for Governor of Connecticut.  

The choice is crystal clear for voters who prioritize keeping their children, families and communities safe from gun violence in Connecticut. The Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ned Lamont has received an F-rating from the NRA, having made a commitment to protect the gun laws passed after the Sandy Hook tragedy and do more to reduce gun violence in Connecticut. In stark contrast, the Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski has received an A-rating from the National Rifle Association (NRA). He has not made a commitment to protect the Sandy Hook gun safety laws, and in August, he told the Stamford Advocate, “I would veto any increased restriction on gun owners in this state.” 

 After the devastating mass shooting incident in Newtown in 2012, when twenty children and six educators were senselessly gunned down in our neighborhood elementary school, Governor Dannel Malloy signed the second strongest gun laws in the nation. After the Las Vegas mass shooting tragedy and during his last legislative session, Governor Malloy made banning bump stocks his legislative priority and signed the bipartisan bill into law in May. This common sense gun safety legislation is supported by more than 80% of Americans. It should have been easy to pass this legislation in Connecticut but it required significant advocacy efforts from Connecticut Against Gun Violence, Newtown Action Alliance and other gun safety organizations. Regrettably, the Connecticut General Assembly failed to pass the ban on ghost guns due to fear of filibustering tactics by Doug Dubisky (R-District 47), Rob Sampson (R-District 80), and other NRA-supported activist legislators. 

It has been increasingly challenging to pass gun safety legislation in Connecticut. Connecticut’s ranking for the strongest gun laws in the nation has slipped to third while other states are doing more to keep their states safe. California has the strongest gun laws in the nation and New Jersey is now second under the leadership of Governor Phil Murphy, who was elected in 2017. Electing governors who support gun violence prevention is critical during a time when the President of the United States has been bought and paid for by the NRA and Congressional members - who take money from the NRA - send only thoughts and prayers after students and educators are gunned down in schools while ignoring the daily firearm death toll. There has been NO substantive federal action on gun violence prevention in 24 years, so Connecticut must continue to lead. 

Ned Lamont has signaled that he would work with our federal delegation, regional leaders and state-based advocates to do more to prevent gun violence in Connecticut. He has made a commitment to 1) build strong partnerships between our police and first responders and our communities to be proactive in preventing the conditions that lead to violence before it occurs; 2) tighten our existing gun laws and close existing loopholes, which includes mandating that guns always be stored safely and limiting the number of firearms that may be purchased at once; 3) expand gun buyback programs like the one that has had success in New Haven; 4) preserve and seek to expand funding for efforts like Project Longevity, a program launched in 2012, and operating in New Haven, Hartford and Bridgeport, that has helped reduce rates of gun violence by intervening before violence occurs; and 5) review and support implementation of policies that have had success in Connecticut and neighboring states, including Trauma-Informed Community Response, in which communities, mental and social services and other health services and law enforcement work together to help communities heal from gun violence and understand how to prevent future gun violence. 

As the next Governor of Connecticut, Ned Lamont will ensure that the common sense gun laws passed after the Sandy Hook tragedy will not be repealed and he will continue to advocate for smart gun laws to keep our children, families and communities safe from gun violence in Connecticut and beyond. 

The cost of this announcement, which is de minimus, is paid for by Newtown Action Alliance, Po Murray, chairperson. This message was made independent of any candidate or political party. Newtown Action Alliance, (http://alliance.newtownaction.org/) is a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization.  

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Newtown Action Alliance (http://alliance.newtownaction.org/) is a Newtown-based, national grassroots organization formed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings. Our mission is to achieve the steady and continuous reduction of gun violence through legislative and cultural changes.