Submitted by Sandy Litvack, Oct 3, 2017
Last night the horror of mass gun murder was visited on yet another American City.
My heart goes out to the victims of the deranged gunman there, and to all the people of Las Vegas who were terrorized by that event.
We in Connecticut experienced the horror of a mass killing as well when 27 children were murdered by yet another deranged gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
After Sandy Hook, courageous legislators acted to prevent a recurrence of mass shootings. Those legislators outlawed semi-automatic assault rifles and large-capacity magazines, required background checks on all purchases, and also implemented a system in which guns could be confiscated from individuals who were believed to be a potential threat to themselves or others. Last year the state strengthened its gun control laws, requiring anyone who is the subject of a temporary restraining order to surrender guns in his possession, extending protections to strained spouses.
Those laws have resulted in gun murders declining more than a third since implementation, and helped reduce violent crime in the state by the greatest extent of any state in the nation over the past four years.
Yet Connecticut’s common sense gun laws are under threat. One Republican state legislator introduced a bill that, if passed, would have repealed the entire post-Sandy Hook law, and others are pushing for so-called “reciprocity,” which would essentially weaken our gun laws to the level of pro-gun states in the South.
I am a strong believer in common sense gun regulation, and as First Selectman of Greenwich, I will always defend our laws, which are helping to save lives, prevent mass murder, protect estranged spouses and children from potentially violent estranged spouses, and reduce violent crime.
Connecticut is moving in the right direction with gun violence prevention, and getting illegal guns off the streets. As first selectman of Greenwich, I will never waiver from defending our residents against those who would weaken our laws, and return to the days before Sandy Hook.
Sandy Litvack is the Democratic Candidate for First Selectman of Greenwich. The General Election will be held on Tuesday, November 7th.