KENT — About 10 residents gathered at the Fife n’ Drum restaurant in Kent Oct. 25 to learn about CT Against Gun Violence’s legislative priorities and ways to help prevent gun deaths.
Kent resident Ross Weingarten, a new board member of the nonprofit organization, arranged the informational session.
“The victims are almost always innocent bystanders,” said Weingarten, a former federal attorney. “They are spouses, they’re partners, they’re people on the street corner… gun violence touches us all.”
The organization focuses on reducing gun violence in Connecticut through education, community involvement and legislative advocacy.
Vice Chair Marty Isaac said the group has been active for about 30 years, with community involvement growing particularly after the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting that killed 20 children and six educators.
“By the time of Sandy Hook, as horrible as it was, we also were powerful enough at that point to put in important legislation to keep us safer going forward,” Isaac said. “And our goal as we do this is to keep people safe and not inconvenience people… we just want common-sense legislation.”
The group’s work also includes suicide prevention. Other initiatives include gun buybacks and donations of gun safes to encourage secure firearm storage.
On the legislative front, the organization has advocated for Connecticut’s gun restrictions, including its 1999 red flag law and the expansion of its assault weapons ban following the Sandy Hook shooting.
The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments later this year in a challenge to Connecticut’s assault weapons ban. Isaac said he expects the justices to strike it down.
Asked how residents could get involved, Isaac and development specialist Barbara Patrick encouraged them to call or write their legislators and attend legislative hearings at the state Capitol.
State Rep. Maria Horn, who was in attendance, said a visible public presence can influence the debate.
“It is absolutely true that it makes a difference who is physically in the Capitol when we are debating this and I would say that thanks to CAGV and others, that has shifted in terms of who is [the majority] in Hartford,” Horn said.
“When we debate gun bills now, you can see the orange T-shirts and the red T-shirts up in the gallery watching legislators vote and holding them accountable for that vote. It has made a difference.”
The organization has not yet announced its legislative agenda for 2027. But Isaac identified one priority: securing state funding to sustain violence prevention programs as federal pandemic aid runs out.
The approaching Dec. 31 spending deadline for American Rescue Plan Act funds threatens to disrupt programs such as COMPASS Youth Collaborative, Isaac said. The nonprofit’s outreach workers support victims of gun violence and their families and work to prevent retaliation.
Isaac described CT Against Gun Violence as nonpartisan, saying responsible gun ownership and gun safety laws can win support across political lines.
Meg Sher, executive director of the David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village.L. Tomaino 
Samir LanGusProvided
