CAGV_orange

Wear Orange

/in , /by

On Tuesday, June 2nd, we have one simple request: Wear orange. June 2nd will be the first National Gun Violence Awareness Day, and wearing orange will demonstrate that you pledge to:

  • honor the lives of Americans lost to gun violence
  • do all we can to keep firearms out of the wrong hands
  • commit to responsible gun ownership
  • and keep children safe from gun violence

Wear Orange and National Gun Violence Prevention Day was inspired by a group of Chicago teens who asked their classmates to commemorate the life of a slain friend by wearing orange.They chose the color because hunters wear orange to announce themselves to other hunters when out in the woods. Their friend — Hadiya Pendleton, a 15 year old high school student — marched in President Obama’s 2nd inaugural parade and was tragically shot and killed back in Chicago just a week later.This June 2nd would have been Hadiya’s 18th birthday.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT),  Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), Rep. Bob Dold (R-IL), Rep. Mike Thompson  (D-CA),  Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-CT), and Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT)  are among the first members of Congress to join the campaign.

Join them by visiting wearorange.org and using the site’s pledge tool to change your social media profile picture or share why you will be #WearingOrange on the first National Gun Violence Awareness Day.

Our Annual Benefit Luncheon: A Great Success

/in , /by

 [metaslider id=767]

(Photos by Wendy Skratt)

Our Benefit Luncheon at the Greenwich Country Club on April 2 was an enormous success!

Thank you so much for all of you who had attended. And thank you so much for all of you who made for such a successful Paddle Raise! We would love to have you join our committee for next year’s luncheon. Please let us know by contacting sofie@cagv.org if you would like to join the committee.

And if you missed it, we hope you can join us next year.

We received so many wonderful notes from so many attendees! They found our Keynote Speaker, Michael Waldman, President of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU so informative. He really gave the audience a clear understanding of the history of the Second Amendment. And they were so grateful to learn more about how Connecticut leads the nation in passing meaningful legislation and reducing gun deaths! And of course, it was great to catch up with so many friends and like-minded people.

Looking forward to seeing you all (and more!) next year.

Public Hearings Now Scheduled for Important Gun Safety Bills

/in , /by

The Judiciary Committee has scheduled a Public Hearing for this Wednesday, March 11, at 10:30 am at the Legislative Office Building (LOB) at 300 Capitol Avenue, Hartford.

Two Domestic Violence Bills (SB650, An Act Concerning Temporary Restraining Orders and HB 6848, An Act Protecting Victims of Domestic Violence) are on the agenda as well as our Safe Storage bill (HB6962, An Act Concerning Firearm Safety).

We are strongly in favor of these bills; they are at the top of CAGV’s legislative priorities.

It is critically important that we get as many people as possible to demonstrate the strength of our movement. Even if you don’t want to testify, or can only stay for a couple of hours, your presence will be noticed by legislators and the media.

Gun rights extremists in CT, supported by the NRA, have been very effective at making their presence felt in legislative hearings. We know this impacts legislators who often feel intimidated by their forceful opposition to any gun safety law. If we want lawmakers to take courageous stands, we must make our voices heard. Appearing and testifying at public hearings is a visible and effective tactic. The media takes notice.

Please sign up here if you can (or may be able to) join us in Hartford for the hearing on Wednesday. If you want to testify at the hearing, sign up begins at 8:30 am on Wednesday.Click here for information on what to expect at a Public Hearing.

If you would like to submit testimony online, please email your testimony in Word or PDF format to JUDtestimony@cga.ct.gov.