Newtown Action Alliance Endorses William Tong for Attorney General of Connecticut
For Immediate Release
October 24, 2018
Press Contact:
John Kelley
917-679-6475
jkelley@newtownaction.org
Newtown Action Alliance Endorses William Tong for Attorney General of Connecticut
Newtown, CT-The Newtown Action Alliance is proud to endorse William Tong for Attorney General of Connecticut.
William Tong is the strongest candidate to serve as the next Attorney General for Connecticut. His leadership is needed to establish Connecticut’s firewall against the dangerous policies that are being pushed by the National Rifle Association (NRA), Donald Trump and members of Congress who take money from the NRA.
William Tong has represented Connecticut’s 147th House of Representatives District since 2006 and served as Connecticut’s House Chairman of the Judiciary Committee with the primary responsibility over the state’s gun laws. He supported and championed the comprehensive bipartisan gun safety legislation passed after a gunman with an AR-15 gunned down 20 children and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School. He also led the initiatives to pass 1) the Domestic Violence Restraining Order Bill, which takes guns away from domestic violence abusers when victims seek to protect themselves with temporary restraining orders; and 2) the Lost and Stolen Firearms law, which fights gun trafficking and gets guns off our streets. He also led the efforts to pass a ban on ghost guns. He has been a steady leader pushing for common sense gun laws in Connecticut since he was elected over a decade ago.
In contrast, the Republican candidate Sue Hatfield served as a Trump delegate at the 2016 Republican National Convention. The NRA spent more than $30 million to usher Donald Trump into the White House and he has stood with the NRA to promote its guns everywhere agenda. Ms. Hatfield’s allegiance to Donald Trump will cloud her judgment on gun violence prevention policies and priorities. Ms. Hatfield was initially endorsed by the Connecticut Citizens Defense League (CCDL), a radical gun rights group, for her support of the Second Amendment. Back in June, she opposed banning 3D and ghost guns, and passing other gun violence prevention measures. Then she lost her endorsement from CCDL after reversing her position on 3D and ghost guns.
Over 600,000 Americans have been killed or injured by guns since the Sandy Hook tragedy. The Attorney General of Connecticut must not waver on the issue of gun violence prevention. It’s clear that Ms. Hatfield’s stance on gun violence prevention is most likely a political maneuver during an election year rather than a deeply rooted passion to end gun violence in Connecticut and beyond.
Connecticut’s next Attorney General must continue to work with other Attorneys General from across the nation to build a firewall against the NRA. On the day when the Newtown Foundation, Newtown Action Alliance and other national gun violence prevention organizations were holding the 5th Annual National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the Sandy Hook tragedy, the House of Representatives heartlessly passed the Concealed Carry Reciprocity legislation, which would preempt state legislation and force states like Connecticut with strong permitting laws to accept permits with weak requirements or even no requirements at all. The bill has been stalled in the Senate, but Concealed Carry Reciprocity remains NRA’s number one priority. As Attorney General, William Tong has made a commitment to work with other Attorneys General to protect Connecticut’s firearm permitting laws by fighting the reckless NRA bill aimed at putting guns everywhere in America.
The next Attorney General of Connecticut must also continue the fight to stop 3D-guns. This summer, the Newtown Action Alliance, #NoRA, Orange Ribbons for Jaime and other gun violence prevention organizations led an initiative to stop 3D downloadable files for Do-It-Yourself guns. The State Department, led by Donald Trump’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, settled a long-standing lawsuit with a self-proclaimed anarchist Cody Wilson and gave authorization for Defense Distributed to post downloadable instructions for 3D-printable guns. Attorney General George Jepson joined 18 other Attorneys General to file a lawsuit against the Trump Administration to prevent anyone around the globe from producing untraceable - and sometimes undetectable - 3D firearms that would circumvent background checks and other important state and federal gun regulations. William Tong has led an initiative to ban ghost guns in Connecticut and, as Attorney General, he will continue to pursue all legal means to stop 3D guns.
Lastly, Connecticut’s Assault Weapons Ban legislation is at risk with Brett Kavanaugh seated on the Supreme Court of the United States. Justice Kavanaugh was supported by the NRA and he believes a ban on assault weapons is unconstitutional. Connecticut will need leadership and guidance from the Attorney General if Justice Kavanaugh acts as an activist gun rights judge to repeal the state’s assault weapons ban.
William Tong is a proven consistent leader and he will continue to make gun violence prevention a priority as the next Attorney General for Connecticut.
The cost of this announcement, which is de minimus, is paid for by Newtown Action Alliance, Po Murray, chairperson. This message was made independent of any candidate or political party. Newtown Action Alliance, (http://alliance.newtownaction.org/) is a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization.
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Newtown Action Alliance (http://alliance.newtownaction.org/) is a Newtown-based, national grassroots organization formed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings. Our mission is to achieve the steady and continuous reduction of gun violence through legislative and cultural changes.