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CT Legi/Slate Legislative Analytics

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The Issues by Voting treemap makes it possible to visualize the priority Connecticut lawmakers put on issues based on voting about related bills.

In CT Legi/Slate, the map is dynamically drawn from the database Readily Apparent built to relate Connecticut General Assembly data about issues, bills, committees and lawmakers.

When the legislature is in session, the map displays the most current information or data for a selected year. At the close of a session, or subsequent special sessions, the map displays summary data for the selected year.

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Watch Raising Adam Lanza Preview on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

In the wake of the mass killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, FRONTLINE investigates a young man and the town he changed forever. Adam Lanza left behind a trail of death and destruction, but little else. He left no known friends, no diary. He destroyed his computer and any evidence it might have provided. His motives, and his life, remain largely a mystery. In collaboration with The Hartford Courant, FRONTLINE looks for answers to the central—and so far elusive—question: who was Adam Lanza? Also this hour: In the aftermath of the tragedy, President Obama called for a national conversation about guns in America. Nowhere is that conversation more intense than in Newtown, where FRONTLINE finds a town divided and explores how those closest to the tragedy are now wrestling with our nation's gun culture and laws.

Courant.com has a companion article.

By Amy Walter @ The Cook Political Report

The Demographic Profile of a Gun Owner

According to a recent Gallup study, the highest rate of gun ownership was among white, southern, married men at 64 percent. Fifty percent of white men say they own a gun. More than one-third of Americans between the ages of 50 and 64 have a gun in the home.

The lowest rate of gun ownership was among non-married women at 13 percent. Just 21 percent of African Americans, 18 percent of Hispanics and 20 percent of 18-29 year olds say they own a gun.

In other words, the political profile of a gun owner looks a whole lot like the profile of a traditional Republican voter, while that of a non-gun owner looks a lot like a Democratic voter.

What’s more, those gun owners/Republicans don’t trust the federal government when it comes to the issue of gun ownership.

Gun control advocates call for action at Hartford rally

By Mary E. O’Leary @ NHRegister.com

HARTFORD — Some 5,500 people rallied on the steps of the state Capitol Thursday in a March for Change to toughen gun laws in Connecticut and the U.S. as one victim of a shooting spree said a vote against them was “a vote on the wrong side of history.”

In addition to state officials, family members of the fallen spoke as did survivors of other mass slayings.

Colin Goddard still carries three bullets in his body and a titanium rod in his left leg as a result of the mass shooting in 2007 at Virginia Tech that claimed 32 lives.

To those who say no, Goddard said: “We must challenge any politician who thinks it is easier to ask an elementary schoolteacher to stand up to a gunman with an AR-15 than it is to ask that politician to stand up to a gun lobbyist with a checkbook.”

How The Gun Industry Funnels Tens Of Millions Of Dollars To The NRA

By Walter Hickey @ BusinessInsider.com

In its early days, the National Rifle Association was a grassroots social club that prided itself on independence from corporate influence.

While that is still part of the organization's core function, today less than half of the NRA's revenues come from program fees and membership dues.

The bulk of the group's money now comes in the form of contributions, grants, royalty income, and advertising, much of it originating from gun industry sources.

Since 2005, the gun industry and its corporate allies have given between $20 million and $52.6 million to it through the NRA Ring of Freedom sponsor program. Donors include firearm companies like Midway USA, Springfield Armory Inc, Pierce Bullet Seal Target Systems, and Beretta USA Corporation. Other supporters from the gun industry include Cabala's, Sturm Rugar & Co, and Smith & Wesson.

The NRA also made $20.9 million — about 10 percent of its revenue — from selling advertising to industry companies marketing products in its many publications in 2010, according to the IRS Form 990.

Additionally, some companies donate portions of sales directly to the NRA. Crimson Trace, which makes laser sights, donates 10 percent of each sale to the NRA. Taurus buys an NRA membership for everyone who buys one of their guns. Sturm Rugar gives $1 to the NRA for each gun sold, which amounts to millions. The NRA's revenues are intrinsically linked to the success of the gun business.

The NRA Foundation also collects hundreds of thousands of dollars from the industry, which it then gives to local-level organizations for training and equipment purchases.

The chief trade association for gun manufacturers is the National Shooting Sports Federation, which is, incidentally, located in Newtown, Conn. But the NRA takes front and center after each and every shooting.

"Today's NRA is a virtual subsidiary of the gun industry," said Josh Sugarmann, executive director of the Violence Policy Center. "While the NRA portrays itself as protecting the 'freedom' of individual gun owners, it's actually working to protect the freedom of the gun industry to manufacture and sell virtually any weapon or accessory."

Press Release - For Immediate Release

Milford, CT, February 14, 2013: A City-wide Shovel Brigade is being organized by local Milford volunteers to help our neighbors clear residential sidewalks. All able-bodied men and women willing to volunteer to shovel are asked to meet Friday, February 15, 2013, 9:00 a.m., behind the Milford Public Library at the Fowler Field parking lot with their shovels. Maps depicting areas in need of clearing will be distributed to volunteer teams.

As Milford digs-out from this unprecedented, record-setting Blizzard, and as Public Works continues to clear snow from our roadways and public areas, volunteers can help the community by lending a hand in those neighborhoods where help is needed to shovel sidewalks - making it safe for children to walk to their bus stops and homes when schools re-open.

Volunteers from Milford’s Police, Fire and other City departments, as well as local Boy Scout, local sports teams, and community organizations will be on hand.

For further information please contact: Steve Johnson, at (203) 804-3604 or [email protected].
####
City of Milford
Contact: Benjamin G. Blake
Mayor, City of Milford
City Hall
110 River Street
Milford, CT 06460
Phone 203 783-3201
Fax 203 783-3329
E-mail [email protected]
Web site www.ci.milford.ct.us

Ann Fabian
Executive Director
Rape Crisis Center of Milford:

Call your state legislators today. Tell them that they must maintain necessary funding for programs that serve sexual assault and domestic violence victims. Strengthen CT's sexual assault statutes to explicitly include protections for individuals with severe physical and mental disabilities.

Call U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (202-225-0600). Tell him to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

Volunteer at your local sexual assault crisis/domestic violence program.

Speak up when your friends, family members or colleagues use disrespectful or demeaning language towards or about women.

By Mary E. O’Leary @ NHRegister.com

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said remarks by a National Rifle Association lobbyist that it would step up its pro-gun efforts after the “Connecticut effect” lessens are “callous and offensive.”

“What the NRA doesn’t seem to understand is that the so-called ‘Connecticut effect’ is actually 20 children with their whole lives ahead of them taken from us in a matter of seconds – and six courageous educators who simply came to school to help children and, instead, lost their lives trying to protect them. The unimaginable pain their families and the Newtown community and our nation feel will not wear off anytime soon,” Blumenthal said...

The senator said rather than waiting for the horror of the 26 killings two months ago in Newtown by lone shooter, Adam Lanza, to subside, the country should come together to “enact real change.”

“Change that will help our law enforcement officials keep guns out of the hands of those who wish to do harm. Change that will ensure that laws on the books are enforced. Change that will strengthen our mental health system. And change that will keep our children safe from tragic acts of violence,” Blumenthal said.

The “Connecticut effect” remark was made by Wisconsin NRA lobbyist Bob Welch at a chapter meeting over the weekend. It was first reported by Think Progress.org.

Sign Senator Blumenthal's petition to urge the NRA's Wayne LaPierre to renounce these outrageous "Connecticut effect" remarks

President Obama's State of the Union address is just the beginning; now we want to hear from you. Highlight a passage of the speech that was meaningful to you and tell the President how you're connected to that issue. Then share that part of the speech with your friends.

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