A coalition of religious leaders will engage Governor Dan Malloy, Mayor Joe Ganim and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal to “seek action on gun violence, police reforms and school funding” at a forum tonight (Thursday) at 7 at Congregation B’nai Israel, 2710 Park Avenue.
More than 500 community leaders from CONECT (Congregations Organized for a New Connecticut) will gather for the community organization’s Winter Action Assembly, according to a media alert issued by the organization. Leaders “will engage publicly with Gov. Malloy and Sen. Blumenthal on its Do Not Stand Idly By strategy on gun violence and follow-up publicly with Mayor Ganim regarding commitments he made to CONECT in September as a candidate. These commitments centered on police training, hiring, and deployment as well as school funding.”
Rev. Bernadette Hickman-Maynard, Co-pastor of Bethel AME Church, and Rev. Timothy Jones, pastor of Community Baptist Church in New Haven, will co-chair the Assembly. CONECT is made up of 25 churches, synagogues, and mosques from New Haven and Fairfield county representing more than 15,000 people from different races, ethnic groups, faith backgrounds, and both cities and suburbs who have joined together to take action on issues of mutual concern.
“CONECT believes in the power of ordinary people working together to change their communities for the better. We challenge ourselves to imagine the change we want to see, to connect individuals and institutions to multiply our power, and to mobilize our members by the hundreds to make our voices heard. Issues of police reform, gun violence, and education are critical issues today in Bridgeport, but also across Connecticut and the US.”
I hope the panelists don’t become sitting ducks for what could become organized aggravation.
These 500 community leaders should really come into the real world. Police reforms, gun violence and school funding. Let’s work backwards.
SCHOOL FUNDING: We can put as much money as anyone can think of into school funding and it won’t do squat. It’s time for the leaders of every community to realize not everyone is going to college. Do we have a programs that will get kids ready for the working world and the answer is NO, we don’t. We meaning those in education don’t give a darn.
Police reforms, gun violence. Look at the shootings here in Bridgeport. Are the police doing the shooting? No they are not. For the most part it’s black on black and Spanish on Spanish. Are whites non-shooters? Of course not.
Let’s change the laws on unlicensed gun possession. Minimum sentence of 10 years, no bullshit.
You can go to church, you can cry and scream but until you admit the problem you are wasting your time.
Andy Fardy, maybe you should attend to get a better understanding of what they are trying to do and how they got to the point they are at now. The membership made the decision on which issues they wanted to address. They didn’t select certain things and if others want to deal with those other issues then they can form their own organization.
Ron, I do not have to attend. All I have to do is ride the streets of Bridgeport and I can see what they have done. I can read the papers and see what they have done. It’s all PR because nothing gets done and black on black killing continues here.
Andy, you started out by saying “these 500 community leaders should have really come into the real world,” well that’s your opinion this group decided to go into what their world wants. Tell me what group do you know can get these many people together as a group who can get the top elected officials to attend their meetings to answer their questions? If people don’t like their agenda then they should form their own community organization to address those issues.
RON, YOU JUST TYPED A LOT OF JIBBERISH. YES THEY SHOULD COME INTO THE REAL WORLD AND SO SHOULD YOU. THE REAL WORLD IS MINORITY KIDS AND YOUNG ADULTS AND OTHERS ARE GETTING KILLED BY THEIR RACES.
These 500 for the most part want MONEY to do their thing, which I still don’t know what it is. I don’t care about the bullshit that comes from these meetings. Here is where the state and federal law enforcement come in. Change the laws and make them tougher. Lower drug sentences but raise illegal gun possession 7 years, illegal gun use 10 years assault on a police officer 15 years. Let’s stop screwing around and put these assholes in jail.
To 500 church and community leaders. Talk, talk, talk. Summit, summit, summit. How about all the church leaders go out into the street and talk to the youth? Provide training and after-school programs in your church, take part of the Sunday offering and fund these programs, get out into the streets. All I see is the clergy talking, preaching, collecting. Is my solution too simple?
Believing with you religion is a matter that lies solely between Man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people that declared their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.
How about parents being accountable for their children?
These people want to be useful? Then they should be out on Stratford Ave and Pembroke and Artic when the sun goes down!
Do the police go over there when the sun goes down?
I also have significant doubts about police activity in these areas. They seemed to be AWOL over the summer with an election on the horizon.
Prove it.
Ron, you know they do. That was the premise of their lawsuit many years ago, no minority officers in minority areas. Come on Ron, stop making dumb statements. Do they go over there? Really?
*** No doubt, a bit of PR along with real caring and concern for a problem that’s affecting youth in general across America! Immature, uneducated, no-job-skills youth, with lack of morals and family structure along with nothing to do but sling drugs for money, carry guns and other weapons for protection while hanging out with their ‘hood friends or gang members. Also, watching and/or playing violent video games or movies plus listening to negative stereotype music that just glorifies one-way negative talk and behavior! It’s more than just guns, however being able to tighten up gun laws as long as it does not affect law-abiding citizens from being able to purchase a weapon within the law should not be a big problem. Maybe a little more info that’s needed on the paperwork or a little more extra time waiting for the police checks to be made really should not be a big deal for any law-abiding citizens in general, no? Gun laws even the U.S. President has been having problems in getting political interest and backing in Washington DC due to all the right-wing NRA lobbyists, etc. Not an easy task in a country that was born with the right to bear arms in its struggles to gain its political independence and freedom from England! There’s a lot more to be done in this nation, its 50 States and US territories as well as locally to try to address some of the problems. More and better-trained Community Police Officers with certain incentives should you actually live in the town or city you work in! Have neighborhood educational toy lending and Pre-K programs for kids before Kindergarten. Bring back once a week non-denominational religious classes for any kids whose families are interested for public school grades 1 through 6. Also bring back basic Home Ec and Wood Shop classes for public school grades 6 through 8 as well. You must start early with kids in planting good citizen seeds and helping create interest in education while still having fun! I’m afraid it’s become such a large problem nowadays, it’s going to take a whole village of involvement among other things, just to start identifying then addressing the problems in our neighborhoods and districts! *** THE DAYS OF LOOKING THE OTHER WAY AND IGNORING THE NEIGHBORHOOD PROBLEMS ARE GONE! *** WHOOP ***
Religious leaders speaking out and demanding answers about violent crime is all fine and good but talk is cheap. Where were the clergy while shootings increased? Bill Finch and Joe Gaudett were doing their part to remove hunting rifles from the attics of surrounding bedroom communities.