On a day Governor Ned Lamont signed gun safety bills shepherded through the committee chaired by State Rep. Steve Stafstrom, State Senator Marilyn Moore, a candidate for mayor, reasserted her call for a Gun Violence Task Force to “help create long term and needed changes to tackle ongoing and senseless gun violence that plagues our urban communities.”
Letter from Moore to Lamont:
I’m writing to you today to request the creation of a Gun Violence Task Force to address the major concerns regarding the rampant gun violence in my hometown of Bridgeport and around the state of Connecticut.
On the heels of the passage of three major gun safety bills passed by the General Assembly, ones that will assist in protecting children who are in a house that has firearms, not allow a gun to be in an unlocked car, and ban ghost guns, I believe more needs to be done. Connecticut experienced 233 murders with firearms between 2013 and 2017 according to the Department Emergency Service and Public Protection with Hartford having the highest number of murders. During that same period there were 3,392 armed robberies and 2,687 aggravated assaults. All these crimes included the use of a firearm.
I applaud the passage of the bills mentioned earlier by my colleagues in the General Assembly and voted for them, but I believe this task force will help create long term and needed changes to tackle ongoing and senseless gun violence that plagues our urban communities. Too many times I have heard from constituents or read the news of another act of gun violence around our state from people of all ages. I fear the longer we go without seriously addressing this problem the longer it will continue and young lives will be lost.
Our focus must shift to the communities most impacted by these crimes such as Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, Stamford and Waterbury where weapons are trafficked and used. When someone is a victim of gun violence it isn’t just that one individual who is affected. It’s families, friends, neighbors and the community at large. We must do everything we can to protect our residents and hold those responsible accountable.
I request that you create this Gun Violence Task Force and help law enforcement and our communities across Connecticut make long term change to protect our families and friends.
The problem with politicians is that they actually believe that more legislation will solve the problems of society. Who believes that this “new” legislation will prevent gang members from using guns?
I understand that something must be done to protect society from the predators in the streets but political actions such as more legislation are more geared to inform the public that their politicians are doing something for them when in reality it’s the same old “feel good” enactments that really don’t change a thing. Crime in Bridgeport and elsewhere is not committed by people that will be affected by such legislation. Do criminals and gang members follow laws?What are the politicians telling us? That ALL the present laws on the books don’t work? Who reads the comments from the governor and thinks ‘oh good, we won’t have anymore shootings or gun violence.’ Get real……
……and last night someone was shot in the neck in Bridgeport, according to the Ct Post. If the new legislation had been implemented earlier I guess this latest shooting could have been avoided.
Right???????
I hear you. I find it somewhat ironic. A state task force to aid police in making arrests, and then what? We protest the police’s actions in whatever they do, sometimes warranted, sometimes not. To the point we blame them, the police, for chasing people who commit violent crimes with a guns. With recent events, but a pattern of actions, having cop not shoot at vehicles indiscriminately is decent policy. Like police shooting, they don’t usually end in a death, fleeing cars don’t usually hit a innocent person. That Hamdem cop is lucky no one died including that Yale cop. But they, Legislators only addresses the “Feel Good” actions and didn’t addressing the issue at large. (believe) There should’ve been a stronger response like a mandatory sentence for those who flee the police and create a dangerous situation to the public in the first place, with a strong public awareness of the law. This will stop a lot of pursuits that are minor incidents for those who believe they can out run the cops. It’s all fun and games until someone get hurt of dies. JS .
So Rich, what is the answer?
Do nothing and count the bodies?
Arrest people for spitting on the street because studies found that 90% of murderers had at one time spit on the street?
The answer is to stop making excuses for criminals and use existing laws to prosecute to the fullest extent. Oh that’s right I forgot, if that’s done then the jails fill up and we have to start letting them out. If we arrest them for certain lesser crimes we ruin their chances to get jobs. Oh yeah, and they had tough childhoods and behavior problems so we need to understand that and be more lenient when they are brought to court and possibly sentenced for whatever crime they committed. When police do take more actions such as task forces to stem the violence then the politicians appease those who complain about the tough enforcement. When laws are enforced and shit happens there is always a relaxing of measures necessary to control the behavior.
More laws are not the answer as we continually and historically have witnessed. Like when a politician before his upcoming election goes into the crime ridden neighborhoods and makes promises. You of course can agree that these neighborhoods always get better once that politician is elected. Right!!!!! Like I said… get real.
Rich, on this one you are way off target, why is America so big with gun violence compare to the rest of the world?
Ron we have more Guns than most other countries. Take out the gun you have violence. We are far the the most violent country. Domestic violence, and child abuse is real. What about those countries who have higher rates. You can compare other forms of death in American to guns deaths and it can be on the lower end. Rich is on point This letter is a “feel good” statement. for the public. Just like the gun buy back program. It doesn’t do anything to deal with the issue at hand. You want to have an impact, Do what Ernie suggested, Stop and Frisk, create a task force specifically to implement it, not in the hands of the department in genera. I would even be racist and have only black and Latinos on the task force so people won’t say it’s racist, a strong mandatory sentence with job training programs in prison so when people get out of jail they have a direction for employment. But most important promote the guns laws to the youth in the city. That will have an impact. It’s the well most of the time not the solution. JS
You say I’m wrong but you ask a question that has a very long answer that I won’t compare between the issue of street criminals and gun laws. That begs a conversation much to long for our present format.
Ron I’m not being being sarcastic or facetious when I now say if I’m wrong, then you’re right, but I could really get into my experiences as a cop as far as how to clean up a neighborhood using the enforcement of quality of life issues and how that can absolutely clean up a neighborhood. I’ll give one example in a non “criminal” sense: neighbors get together to complain about speeding cars in their neighborhood. They meet with their police and get a traffic enforcement squad to come in and address the problem. Some of the same neighborhood residents get pulled over for speeding. They complain that
“ oh but I live here”.
Think about that for awhile.
Get it?
The rest of the world invests in Education and Mental health, Our government rather incarcerate than educate. this is how they control us. Suppression, keeping us poor dumb, stupid. They keep feeding us nonsense, band aides to solving the problem.
Maria Pires…your comment is a BULL’S EYE.
Why don’t we get to the bottom of this?
Get some good honest data of who is committing gun crimes and where are the guns coming from???
Is it gangs? Then let’s crack down on gangs but crack down on the heads of gangs not just some gang members and call it busting up a gang.
Who is being shot by what? Saying it is simply gang members shooting other gang members. This is totally dismissive of human life and only when an innocent person is killed do we raise up and protest.
Where are the guns coming from? Are they bought legally and sold to gang members? Are they stolen by gang members? Are they transported across state line? We need answers and in hard data before we can begin to solve the problem.
And not just lockem up and soo er or later when it solves the problem then we can deal with prison crimes and overcrowding.
Or do you believe like Trump does and guns are just a form of entertainment???
Bob If that question was for me then I’ll answer it this way: even so I was a cop and presently have the right to “carry” in every state of these United States, you need to know that I was never a gun guy. Never shot for fun or sport only shot when prescribed by the department to “qualify” with the weapon
So what I will say is that last weekend in Chicago, 53 people were shot and a number killed. Happens every week there. I will bet you that none of those shooters belonged to the NRA, were licensed gun owners, or gave a shit about any gun law let alone ANY law. Have a nice day.
Rich
First of all Bridgeport is not Chicago.
Second of all where do these guns come from. I have heard many theories but I haven’t seen hard facts.
Thirdly, is itgangs shooting gang members or what? We need answers before you solve a problem based on facts not theories.
Only then can you begin to solve the problem rather “lock em up.”
Also Rich
How does an incompetent Chief of Police come into the picture?
Bridgeport is a mini Chicago and as such could be brought under control with less energy than a big city like Chicago etc. . You’re on here all the time so you should know what I have said on many occasions and on many an issue regarding A J. and how the PD is run.
On the topic of police in general I have always said don’t blame the workers blame the upper eschelon and the politicians. In the case of the upper eschelon including the Chief, blame the politicians and “the machine.” I have on many occasions made my thoughts known here about that. As to where the guns come from and who’s shooting who, you make the same mistake as many others: Looking for answers that won’t change the problem but only continue the dialogue and point a finger. Life’s not like that and it’s not that simple and I will refuse to go down that flawed logic with you. Laws and enforcing laws would help. Obviously it’s not working so the politicians talk about new laws that won’t work either but during election time they’re able up say “look what I did”. It’s all bullshit. Name me a politician that made a real difference in crime during the past couple of decades. I will give my insight you after you name one. You don’t have to stay within Connecticut either. Go ahead the floors yours
As fot the 2nd Amendment,this is 2019,NOT 1719,1776,1819 or even 1919. The world today is completely and irrevocably different and so are guns themselves. ALL GUNS SHOULD BE STRICTLY REGULATED. OWNERS OF GUNS NEED TO BE STRICTLY REGULATED. OWNERS SHOULD PASS TRAINING LESSONS ON MARKMANSHIP,STORING AND ALL FACTORS OF GUN OWNERSHIP. The ENTIRE United States is Dodge City. It is RIDICULOUS that standards to get a Drivers License are stricter than for getting a gun.
It’s extremely naive to believe that legislation and more legislation will solve the crimes perpetrated upon society. Who does not understand that criminals DON’T CARE about laws?!!
My debate over this issue I believe is now over. There are too many people who are conflicted about this issue and just can’t seem to understand. I’m not an advocate for guns and my point AGAIN is that more legislation is not the answer. Enforce existing laws and stop finding excuses for the criminals who commit gun crimes and all crimes.
What completely ineffective laws do we need to do a better job of enforcing. I repeat;The Unites States is Dodge City from coast to coast. What we are seeing is the the laws on the books any anl level of enforcement is a joke. I repeat;it is harder to get and maintain a drivers license versus a gun permit. THIS IS PERVERSE. THIS IS ILLOGICAL.
Well there are a lot of deaths and injuries by automobiles too, with a cost of 10s of billions each year. Frank, Rich is right guns ownership and criminal activities are to separate issues. You don’t need a license to steal a ca,r and you don’t need a permit to buy an illegal gun.
This is the typical politician’s reaction. What kind of task force? A bunch of university professors and criminologists and law enforcement professionals talking about gun violence, writing and issuing a report to the governor and that’s that? Or will there be a concerted effort to reduce gun violence and prosecute offenders to the fullest extent of the law? One of the biggest problems the state’s attorney has in making gun cases is Connecticut’s lack of a grand jury system. Gang members intimidate witnesses from testifying in open court. Grand jury proceedings are secret. Wanna fix the problem, Ms. Moore? Start there.
The present laws which are being talked about are PEANUTS compared to the laws which would be required to make a change. We once a watered down Assault Weapons Bill but that was even swept under the rug. Every single politician is scared to death of the NRA. I will certainly admit that REALLY REALLY tough gun control laws would not be the sole answer as we need to look at the mores of society. I have a radical idea. The pictures of gun massacre scenes should be published and all should see what today’s guns can do. Can you imagine if photos of the Sandy Hook Massacre were published to be seen. There actually might have been something done but the sanitized and “Please Pray” refrain would have been insufficient. Twenty Children and Six Adults were massacred and the GREAT United States of America did NOTHING… Outrageous.
What an original idea! It’s amazing how there has never been such a task force created previously, or any usable info/data/ideas gathered that could be applied to the deadly issue of firearms involved in youth/drug-gang violence. But this is 1983, and Bridgeport — nor any other American city — has ever experienced such a violent-crime surge… We’re in new territory here… Let’s break some ground on this shocking, new, urban issue…
On a more relevant note: The shooting continues around the city — two fusillades of gun shots, about ten shots followed by 10 more shots during about a 20-second period — occurred last night at about 9:45 PM in, or around, Trumbull Gardens… Possibly a continuation of the gangster-junior fusillade that occurred in Trumbull Gardens on Friday afternoon, per news reports… (It’s also close to the anniversary of the side-by-side, speeding-car shoot-out on Lakeside Drive of one year ago… Which was “dealt with” by “cutting-edge” measures following a “youth violence meeting” at Park City Magnet School (which followed a similar meeting at Blackham School by a about a week, that was held to deal with a 10-year drug gang problem in that neighborhood…) (Yes: let’s get Greenwich Ned, whose Greenwich neighborhood has been plagued by gun-violence for many years, to get a task-force together to organize a 40-year gun-violence task force reunion for all of the Connecticut task-forces that have worked on this issue… If there’s a good response from all of the participants that are still alive and functional, it can be held at Seaside Park — or the Webster Arena in case of the threat of inclement weather/severe threat of street-gang violence in an open setting…)
And; on an even more serious note: What youth recreation/jobs programs are up-and running to promote youth safety and development and divert Bridgeport youth-violence problems this summer? School is almost out for the summer… Is there any City-led out-reach program/transportation program to get Bridgeport youth involved in these programs?
(This Mayoral Campaign is shaping-up to be even more comedic and farcical — and tragic — than usual… A replay of the same issues and non-solutions articulated in cluelessness that have been chasing campaign-cash and the Boss-of-Two-City-Halls job for several decades across two centuries… Somebody could create a great musical comedy-drama, or opera from the last 50 years of Bridgeport political history — especially the last 40, starting with John Mandanici…)