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February 6, 2014

McKinney talks guns to Bristol Republicans

More than a year after the Newtown massacre, children are still feeling its impact in the town's classrooms. Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, a Republican who represents the town, said that when a door is slammed or a book dropped hard on the floor, "kids are in tears" because it brings back memories of the shootings that claimed the lives of 20 classmates and six educators. Defending his vote in favor of last year's gun control measure before the Bristol GOP recently, McKinney said he spent that entire day in the Sandy Hook fire station with parents who lost their children, some of whom he already knew. "It had a huge impact on me," he said. He said he knows many Republicans oppose the measure approved by the General Assembly, but he is sure his district backed it. "I've always believed that my obligation is to represent my constituents," said McKinney, who is running for governor. He said that if he and other Republicans hadn't gotten behind the bill, the Democrats would have pushed through one with even tougher rules on guns, including an insurance requirement, annual registration and the confiscation of magazines holding more than 10 bullets. McKinney said Democrats also wanted everyone who purchased a gun to get a permit, subject to the same "suitability" standard police use in determining whether someone should be eligible to carry a hidden gun.
Copyright 2014 All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

May 31, 2013

Hey, Connecticut! This man is coming to steal your business

South Carolina state Rep. Alan Clemmons of Myrtle Beach was on a plane early this morning, pictured above, to head to Connecticut to try to convince five gun manufacturers to give up on the Nutmeg State and move south.

He said he is excited about his prospects but sad for the 2nd Amendment's treatment in Connecticut.

Stuart Kaufman, a South Carolina resident, told the legislator, "Let them know that we value and welcome them. If the people of Connecticut want to be stupid, that's their loss and our gain."

One of this Twitter followers told him, "Don't forget to remind them about mild winters, great people, beautiful beaches, and hoards of pro-2A folks!"

Another told him, "any gov would be a fool to ignore this formula. good business climate + invitation = success."
Among the companies he's expected to visit is the Bristol-based PTR Industries, a gun maker that's already said it is leaving the state soon because of restrictive new gun control laws adopted this spring.
Mike Nicastro, president of the Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce, said the legislator's effort is typical of the hard-charging economic development efforts of Sun Belt states. They are constantly trying to raid the region to try to convince companies to pull up stakes and move to Dixie, he said.
Nicastro said that whatever happens with PTR, he can't blame them. He said PTR's owners are moving only because they believe they have no choice given the law's restrictions.
Clemmons, a sponsor of a resolution inviting gun makers to move to South Carolina, reached out to PTR shortly after the company declared its intention to leave the state.
Company Chief Executive Officer Josh Fiorini said that among the places he's checked out is Horry County, S.C., where Clemmons lives.
PTR has not yet announced where it will go.

April 23, 2013

Anti-gun legislators 'a bunch of cowards'

One of Bristol's representatives on the state Democratic Committee, Joella Bouchard Mudry, this week called lawmakers who voted against the gun bill "a bunch of cowards" and declared she would not work for their reelection. One of those legislators was state Rep. Frank Nicastro, a Bristol Democrat. Nicastro opposed the measure, he said, because it was "a feel-good" bill that would do nothing to prevent future killings. Spurred by public outcry over the Dec. 14 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School that left 20 students and six educators dead, the legislature approved the gun control measure on a bipartisan basis with most Democrats favoring it. Gov. Dannel Malloy signed it into law the same day it passed the General Assembly.
Copyright 2013. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

April 10, 2013

Cockayne calls on Malloy to save gun makers

Press release from GOP mayoral hopeful Ken Cockayne:

City Councilman and Republican Mayoral candidate Ken Cockayne today sent a letter to Governor Dannel Malloy urging him and the office of Economic and Community Development to reach out to the Gun manufactures in Connecticut and urge them to stay in Connecticut.

Cockayne’s letter comes after PTR Industries of Bristol wasthe first Gun Manufacture in Connecticut to announce it is leaving the state. “At a time when municipalities as well as the state could use all the revenue it can get, we should be doing everything in our power to not let these jobs walk away from our state. Our unemployment rate in Bristol is hovering at 9.3% and every business is sacred to our local economy,” Cockayne wrote to the Governor.

“I am hopeful that the Governor and DECD have a plan to keep gun manufactures in Connecticut and I am hopeful that they will be sharing that plan with local officials,” Cockayne continued, “Our economy in Bristol and Connecticut is sputtering and I hope no one in the Governor’s office or administration is jumping for joy that these businesses and jobs are leaving the state.”

“if elected Mayor, I will be placing an emphasis on bringing new jobs to Bristol and working closely with the Chamber of Commerce and the marketing committee to make Bristol more attractive for businesses to locate here,” Cockayne ended.

April 3, 2013

Welch votes no on gun control compromise

Press release:

Harford, CT – State Senator Jason Welch (R-Bristol) released the following statement today re: SB 1106:An Act Concerning Gun Violence Prevention and Children’s Safety.

“All of us were moved by this horror in Newtown, and this horror demands action with mental health access, action with hardening our schools, action in ending straw purchases and action in getting guns out of the hands of criminals, with the goal of preventing a madman from committing such a horror again.

State Sen. Jason Welch

“But this bill falls short of that goal. It also comes with a loss of liberty. This country is about freedom. Whether you believe liberty to be granted through the divine or that it came to be following our natural law, with liberty comes great responsibility. Not all have lived up to that responsibility.

“But the irresponsibility of some ought not cause the loss of liberty of others.

“Evil is the common theme in these horrific mass shootings. I don’t see this bill getting to the heart of evil. I don’t see this bill convincing mass murderers to change their hearts and minds.

“I do applaud those who came up with some really good ideas. Things we ought to follow through on including: mental health first aid for district safe school climate coordinators and reconstituting the statewide gun trafficking task force to get illegal guns off the streets. But when I weigh what this country stands for I can’t support the loss of freedom in this bill, therefore I cannot support it at all.”

Wright favors gun measure, Betts stands opposed

At least one of Bristol’s four lawmakers plans to vote for the bipartisan gun control measure before the General Assembly today.

Rep. Chris Wright

State Rep. Chris Wright, a Bristol Democrat, said he favors the proposal because he’s convinced it will bring down the number of gun deaths in Connecticut without intruding on the rights of law-abiding citizens.

Another Bristol lawmaker, Republican Whit Betts, said he plans to vote against the bill. He said it would further reduce gun owne
rs’ rights. He said it doesn’t address the root cause of the Sandy Hook Elementary School killings that left 20 students and six educators dead in Newtown on Dec. 14.

The other two legislators from Bristol, Democratic state Rep. Frank Nicastro and Republican state Sen. Jason Welch, haven’t yet said how they’ll vote. But both generally favor the positions of gun advocates.

State Rep. Whit Betts

Wright said he came to his position in part because of what he’s seen while working as a billing clerk in the St. Francis Hospital emergency room. He said he’s seen “so many people coming in after being shot” that the issue is personal for him.

He said he watched one day as a 20-year-old was pronounced dead. Another time, he said, he stood by as doctors told the mother of a 15-year-old that her son had died after being gunned down at the end of his driveway.

“It’s such a waste of life,” Wright said. “I’m tired of it and the people in my district that I hear from are tired of it.”

Betts said, “My heart goes out to those who’ve lost loved ones as a result of the senseless tragedy at Sandy Hook. However, I don’t think this proposed legislation could ever prevent another Sandy Hook tragedy."

“Unfortunately, criminals and those wishing to do harm to others will find a way, regardless of what legislation is adopted,” he said. “I believe we should be putting a primary focus on addressing mental health, which is what I believe to be the root cause of the terribly shooting tragedies.”

Wright said he understands the measure agreed on by legislative leaders won’t bring an end to the gun violence. But, he said, “it will bring the numbers down. And I think that that is important.”

Betts said his constituents oppose the measure because they believe it curtails their constitutional right to bear arms.

Wright said he doesn’t believe there is a Second Amendment issue involved.

He said the provision in the Bill of Rights was designed to ensure the government had “an armed, trained militia” ready in case it had to put down rebellions, not to provide the people a right to arm themselves against the government itself, as so many believe nowadays.

He said many people have “a fundamental misunderstanding” of the nature of the Second Amendment.

Wright said the new provisions included in the measure “are not the most intrusive things in the world.”

Requiring a permit to purchase to buy ammunition is “a logical next step” that “makes it just a little bit harder for the criminal” to get hold of bullets. Those who have a permit already won’t have any trouble, he said.

“We’re not confiscating anything,” Wright said.

The only restriction is that gun owners won’t be able to buy more high capacity magazines in the future.

Wright also hailed the bill’s call for the creation of a dangerous offender registry in Connecticut to make it easier for police to know who isn’t supposed to possess a gun.

The guns of April - Updated

When the General Assembly votes today on a bipartisan gun control measure, it appears that Bristol's legislative delegation will likely split. State Rep. Chris Wright, a Bristol Democrat, is expected to vote in favor of the measure. But the city's other three lawmakers -- Reps. Frank Nicastro and Whit Betts as well as state Sen. Jason Welch -- are far from certain yes votes. Nicastro, a Democrat, is likely to vote against it. Welch and Betts could go either way.
Update: Betts will vote against it.
Copyright 2013. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

December 17, 2012

Let's make sure Newtown is the last massacre

Between Sunday morning's church service and Sunday night's vigil in West Hartford, I saw a lot of candles flickering, tiny flames to stand against the evil that enveloped Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown the other day. It is hard to see how the puny lights we carry can do much in the face of such overwhelming darkness. And yet the only good that can come of such a nightmare is that it might force us to wake up, to open our eyes and see that we don't have to keep on sleeping. We can build a better world, one in which loopy young men can't get their hands on weapons that could have wiped out a Roman legion or turned the tide in any battle of the American Revolution. These powerful guns, which can wipe out a classroom in minutes, are not something that anybody with a credit card and a trigger finger ought to have the right to buy. That almost anybody could walk into Wal-Mart and walk out in no time with the means to slaughter scores of people is nothing short of sickening. No civilized country allows it, except the United States. So it's no surprise that when a massacre happens -- in a mall, in a movie theater, in a McDonalds, at a church in a classroom -- it happens in America. We're better than this. All those little shining faces from Newtown, those precious kids who never had a chance, we owe it to them to make sure that this doesn't again, and again, and again. We have to give up the idea that if we just arm enough people, just station enough cops in enough places, just put bulletproof glass in our schools, just create a mountain of fake security, that it will be enough. It will never be enough. The only answer is to make sure that guns that are capable of firing large magazines of bullets are no longer available and that the bullets they use are also impossible to find. I believe the Second Amendment, along with many state constitutions, allows people who are stable to have a gun. But we even regulate free speech, allowing time and place restrictions and barring the most idiotic types of speech (like the old yelling "fire" in a crowded theater example). We can surely regulate guns at least as much. Let people have a hunting rifle, a shotgun, maybe a six-shooter. But nobody -- absolutely nobody -- needs a semi-automatic rifle like the one used to mow down children and teacher in Newtown. The se heinous weapons shouldn't be allowed and those who sell them, right now, ought to pull them off the shelves. There are some ways of making money that are simply immoral. This is clearly one of them. Our elected representatives promise to make changes every time some horror hits the headlines. And then they do nothing. This time, we can't let that happen. We can't just let the National Rifle Association and its most fanatic fringe control the agenda any longer. We've had enough vigils. We've had enough prayers. What we need is action. We have the ability to roll back the darkness, to push back the fear and to make this country one where children don't have to worry about anything more menacing than homework.
Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

January 23, 2009

Hamzy takes aim at gun control efforts

State Rep. Bill Hamzy, whose 78th District includes Plymouth and a portion of Bristol, is sponsoring a bill in the General Assembly to "prohibit the adoption of a municipal ordinance concerning the right to carry a firearm."

The idea is to prevent cities and towns from regulating firearms with local laws.

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