Update on Bass Pro jobs fair here
U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy have implored the chief executive of Bass Pro Shops to “stop selling guns to people who do not first definitively pass a background check.” The senators urge the public to boycott America’s largest sporting goods stores if they do not comply. See letter here.
Connecticut’s senators joined about a dozen of their peers in making an appeal to Bass Pro, Cabela’s and other retailers. Bass Pro is expected to open its Bridgeport store this fall as the anchor tenant for the Steel Point redevelopment area of the East Side.
More from the CT Mirror:
“We are asking consumers to shop with their feet and their pocketbooks,” and avoid stores that don’t wait for a background check to be completed, Blumenthal said.
Murphy said, “Listen, I don’t think people should be shopping in these stores unless they make a commitment to require background checks before they sell guns.”
“But if you do walk into Bass Pro Shops or Cabela’s, ask, ask the clerk, ask the store manager,” Murphy said. “Ask them why they won’t adopt this common-sense policy that will keep us safe and save lives.”
Connecticut’s gun laws require that an FBI background check is completed before a license to purchase a gun is issued. But that isn’t the case in most states.
Full story here.
This is a nonstarter, an effort to keep the names Blumenthal and Murphy in the news.
Dear Senators,
We live in Connecticut, a state with some of the most restrictive gun laws in the U.S. There is no place to hunt in Connecticut so the deer, pheasant, wild turkey and rabbits run wild. That’s because no one can obtain a firearm to kill the little motherfuckers. Thank you,
The Bridgeport Kid.
These two guys are 100% assholes. They have done very little for Bridgeport although it seems Blumenthal shows up at every park opening. I hope a boycott of Bass Pro does not take place. Are there any other stores that do not wait for gun checks before selling a gun?
Stores? Andy, get out of the house. This is Bridgeport. It’s easier to buy a gun than going to McDonald’s.
Kid, if I want a gun this afternoon, I know where to go.
When does Sen Blumenthal have time to work as he is on news channel 12 along with Finch every day?
I guess Blumenthal didn’t get the memo. Finch doesn’t want ANYTHING negative being reported about anything to do with Bpt! In Finch’s “F’ed”-up mind, there is no crime in Bpt, Steel Point will bring thousands of jobs, and kids will eat all the apple pie they want while flying kites in the new parks, and it doesn’t matter if movie theaters are closing up daily, Bpt’s new 17-screen theater will be different, people will pay $14 each to enter, then they will be able to order overpriced food and sit there and eat it! It will be a huge success! lol.
Finch has a vision of shiny happy white people cavorting in city parks, oblivious to the poverty and despair of Bridgeport’s poorest neighborhoods.
Excellent, Bridgeport Kid.
The Bpt Kid, that is a very unfair unnecessary racist comment that is not true. Most parks created are in older impoverished neighborhoods and the families and kids are very grateful.
Side note: it was nice to see Officer Daniels greeting shoppers at Stop & Shop in the North End. People were waiting in line to sign. I also saw a few Charlie Coviello signs by Beardsley Park.
Congratulations to Mayor Bill Finch on his latest endorsement by the Electrician’s Union. Guess Steelpointe will be keeping them busy for the next 20 years.
It is so amazing how this blog is like an alternate universe. The city is dark and distorted. Every good is bad. Everything bad is real good. There is no future, only a past.
Get over the sanctimony, Stevie. What I said is true. The Finch administration in engaged in class warfare. Since Bill Finch has no class he has to look at the pictures. The pictures he sees are of African American and Latino people living in squalid neighborhoods below the poverty line. He has been told “those people” choose to live that way, told by the Republicans in liberal clothing he has surrounded himself with. The Golden Hill Street Bridge has not been rebuilt because the old-line bigots in Bill Finch’s inner circle want to keep “those people” on the East Side.
Next to John Kerry, little Dick Blumenthal is really one big loser!!!
These guys are idiots. If you don’t have a pistol permit you cannot buy a handgun in this state or any other state. And if you don’t have a pistol permit it is a 14-day waiting period, which provides time to go through an FBI background check, before you can purchase a long gun. The store hasn’t even opened yet or hired their first employee yet and the Democrats are already calling for boycotts.
I was thinking the same thing, QD. When you have a pistol permit, buying a handgun is just as easy as buying a pair of sneakers. You’re walking out of the store with your purchase immediately.
Not exactly, Eric. There is still a federal and state database a purchaser must fill out electronically at the stores. Each store must have at least one computer station set up, the bigger stores like Bass and Cabela’s have several, and the purchaser must fill out these forms and answer the questions electronically. The questions you must answer are very detailed and you must sign an “affidavit” that the info is true and accurate. The forms are then sent to the state database for a background check. These databases work 24/7. Once the state background check is complete the forms are printed and signed by the purchaser and those forms are kept on file and copies are sent to the Feds. The whole procedure takes about an hour to an hour and a half to complete.
Please read the latest CT Post story on Bass Pro’s discriminatory hiring practices for the Bridgeport location. After seeing their job fair flier on OIB I contacted the Department of Labor and the CT Post because the flier specifically states you must be 18 years old just to apply. That is a violation of CT state law. The law changed in early 2000. Minors can apply for any job in CT except for specific jobs that may be hazardous. The only reason a minor can be denied employment is because of a lack of qualifications, not based solely on their age.
Bass Pro is already being sued by the National Dept. of Labor for discriminatory and racist hiring practices. The suit alleges they do not hire blacks, Hispanics, Asians, or women. Here they are already discriminating against our youth in violation of our state laws.
So much for Mayor Finch helping our youth with employment opportunities.
Thanks, CT Post.
You have to be 18 to work at many retailers. Lowes, Home Depot, Pep Boys etc. This is not discrimination, is it? They want adults, not children.
You can be 16 to work at Chipotle or Starbucks. Where there is heavy equipment and machinery you must be 18 and it is not discrimination. I only speak from 11 years of management at Home Depot and hiring over 1000 people over 18 in the New England division.
Thanks Maria, and thank you Mayor Finch.
These companies were not intended to put the 16-year-old sophomores to work. They are all equal opportunity employers and some companies you need to be 18 and some you do not!
Wrong, Steve. CT state law is clear that not hiring a 16- or 17-year-old based solely on their age is illegal. It is reverse age discrimination.
Every minor must be allowed to apply for any position in CT. If a minor wanted to apply to be the CEO of Subway they must be allowed to do so.
Maria, get serious! Home Depot will not hire a 16-year-old. Lowes will not hire a 16-year-old and neither will Bass Pro. You want 5000 16-year-olds applying for a job they will not get? What’s your point? I do not think Joe Ganim can get a job there. Is that discrimination if they say convicted felons need not apply? Or just let them apply and not hire them. This is where I would come to the defense of a convicted felon. There is a difference between working in a store and betraying the public trust, and trying for the top job in the largest city in Connecticut.
Yes, Steve. It is illegal to prevent convicted felons from applying for a position in CT. Whether you or I agree or disagree with this, it is the law.
Maria Pereira is quite right, Steve. Even Joe Ganim can get a job at Bass Pro. He will have gainful employment in November; Bill Finch ought to apply at Bass Pro to work the badminton department. He’s going to be out of work in three months.
You know Steve, Blumenthal and Murphy come to town to endorse Bill Finch for yet another term. Finch secured Bass Pro Shops as the anchor tenant at Steal Point. Now Blumenthal and Murphy are urging a boycott of Bass Pro. That’s great, that’s just fucking great. Commend Finch for bringing Bass Pro to town, wish them great success and then turn around and urge people to not shop there. That makes about as much sense as tits on a boar.
Hey Steve, that “endorsement” by the Electrician’s Union isn’t a surprise, the head of the union is Charlie Carroll’s brother Peter.
And the police union endorsement for Ganim is drinking and eating for free at Testo’s every night, what’s your point? You think he was endorsed because of Charlie Carroll’s brother Pete or because the unanimous decision was based on Jobs, Jobs, Jobs.
Mr. Weintraub, is there any common sense on this blog anymore?
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, Paris, police union President getting fat at Testo’s for free. I think the other police officers have to pay. Mr. Paris enjoy the free meals. After the election you will be receiving a bill.
“Paris, police union President getting fat at Testo’s for free …” What about Kevin Coughlin, the interim spokesman for the police and fire departments? He’s a political operative. The Finch campaign put him on the city payroll. Why are the taxpayers of Bridgeport paying the salary of a political hack working for Finch’s re-election campaign?
Blumenthal and Murphy to the taxpayers of Bridgeport: “I (gulp) endorse Bill Finch.”
Blumenthal and Murphy to the rest of the State: “I wanna keep my Senate Seat so … Boycott Bass Pro Shops.”
Good Lord, it must suck to be them. They wake up in the morning and the balance in their bank accounts stare back at them in the bathroom mirror.