Aisha K. Staggers Photo
CAGV’s Jeremy Stein addresses Fair Haven gathering.
A small crowd gathered inside the Fair Haven public library branch to plot strategy to tackle a “unique American problem” — gun violence, especially gun violence that afflicts cities like New Haven.
A dozen community members showed up for the session Saturday, which CT Against Gun Violence (CAGV) organized to discuss its 2020 state legislative agenda.
Advocates have helped convince the legislature to pass some of the country’s most stringent gun-control legislation. CAGV is calling on citizens to help pass additional legislation this year.
As part of its agenda, CAGV seeks to create a permanent commission to address gun violence intervention on the community level. Another measure would strengthen the state’s 20-year-old “risk warrant” law, which set conditions for when a court can issue a warrant to remove a weapon from the home; CAGV is looking to enable a judge to keep some warrants in effect longer than a year; and to limit access to weapons for high-risk people who don’t currently possess them.
Saturday’s community meeting was led by CAGV Executive Director Jeremy Stein, a former prosecutor whose 23 years as a litigator included a number of gun-related prosecutions. In attendance were local citizens and members of partnering organizations like Moms Demand Action and the Connecticut Violence Intervention Program.
Stein offered sobering statistics about the state of gun violence in Connecticut. In a state where the population of African Americans hovers around 10 percent, approximately 56 percent of the gun violence victims are black, a fact most residents are unaware of. We don’t hear about these numbers, Stein pointed out, due in large part to how the media covers this issue: the shootings in black and brown communities aren’t given the same degree of concern as shootings in non-black/brown communities despite the fact that gun violence affects everyone.
“Gun violence is a uniquely American problem. While we tend to think more of the mass shootings because they get the media, we have to remember that in black and brown communities like New Haven, Hartford and Bridgeport, Waterbury and parts of Stamford, even, this is a daily thing and they are more at risk,” Stein said.
Leonard Jahad is executive director of the Connecticut Violence Intervention Program (CVIP), which works to steer 13 – 21 year olds away from violent activities and behaviors that can lead to violent situations and interactions.(Click here to read more about that.)
“At the end of the day we find that a lot of the kids who get involved in violent activities are suffering from abandonment. They have a father that is incarcerated, a mother working two and three jobs. As a coach, I try to get them involved in sports to keep them off the streets, but because mom is working, they have to care for younger siblings and can’t join,” Jahad said at Saturday’s event.
Jahad found that a lot of the young people he works with have another interest that he could tap into to steer them away from the streets: “We found a lot of them had musical talent so we built a studio with the help of UNH.”
Lisa Freund of Moms Demand Action was also present at Saturday’s meeting. “We all have the same goal, to keep kids safe, particularly in black and brow communities,” Freund said. “The goal is to save lives, so we support anything CAGV does legislatively and we support the other organizations as well.”
As the meeting wrapped up, CAGV Outreach Director Terra Volpe (pictured) offered a little tough love: “We have to engage in a way that our legislators hear us and that requires citizen participation. It’s not optional. It’s required or it breaks. These communities like Hartford, New Haven, and Bridgeport are facing gun violence daily, and they need you to step up.”
Janet Rice of CAGV closed the meeting, reminding those of us in the room that gun violence is closer to home than we think. Rice lost her only son 55 days before the massacre at Sandy Hook. He was 20 years old. They were best friends and he was Hartford’s 20th homicide that year. It took her three years to get over her grief and get moving. But once she did, she hasn’t quit, she said. “I did it all, went to crime scenes, helped grieving families, everything I could, but it never felt like it was enough. I came to work for CAGV [last] November, and I found my home.”
Why is a year not long enough for a person to be mentally evaluated and adjudicated by the court if they are mentally not stable enough to possess a firearm? In contrast with other state's attempts to enact risk warrants, which, due to loose standards, have already been abused to illegally deprive innocent people of their freedom, Connecticut's seems to meet a high standard of constitutional protections while allowing a process for seizing of guns in true risk situations.
How are they looking to expand the definition of "high risk" persons who don't currently possess a firearm? The list of disqualifiers seems to be fairly complete, moreover, it is exceptionally rare for a legally obtained firearm to be used in a crime.
Is Johnny getting arrested for his 3rd time with an illegally possessed gun used to further his drug dealing going to be flagged as ineligible to buy a gun?
Just like gun buybacks don't make urban communities safer by paying money for grandpa's rusty shotgun from the suburbs, this sounds like busybodies with good intentions but little understanding of application.