CAGV Applauds Groundwork Laid For Gun Violence Prevention

Press release from CAGV:

May 20, 2021

Hartford, CT: Today the CT Senate voted overwhelmingly in favor of Senate Bill 1. The Act declares that racism is a public health crisis, and if passed into law, will enact far-reaching measures to combat the pervasive negative impact of structural racism, including the unrelenting loss of life and trauma caused by community gun violence.

Included in SB-1 is the groundwork to create a Commission on Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention, with a mission that mirrors the Connecticut Initiative to Prevent Community Gun Violence. Last year, CT Against Gun Violence proposed the CT Initiative in response to the persistent crisis of community gun violence that disproportionately afflicts communities of color in Connecticut, and was largely responsible for the 50 percent year-over-year increase in Connecticut gun homicides last year.

About the Senate vote, CAGV executive director Jeremy Stein remarked, "As the street-level gun violence that erupted across the state last weekend reminds us yet again, we can't wait any longer to address this public health crisis that disproportionately impacts communities of color. By passing SB-1, the Senate answered our call to lay the groundwork for establishing an office of community gun violence prevention. We look forward to similar action in the House, and for support from the Lamont administration to make the CT Initiative to Prevent Community Gun Violence a reality."

The objective of the CT Initiative is to establish a state-level grant-making authority (an Office of Community Gun Violence Prevention) to fund and implement evidence-based, community-centric, programs and strategies to reduce street-level gun violence. Dedicated staff with multi-disciplinary expertise would bring the attention needed to address the magnitude of Connecticut’s community violence problem, guided by input from community stakeholders and public health and gun violence prevention policy experts.

More than 35 organizations have joined CAGV in the effort calling on the state to dedicate staff to secure and disburse dependable funding to support community-based programs that have proven track records of preventing and interrupting conflict and retaliation that too often turns deadly in the presence of guns.

CAGV is also encouraged by funding from the American Rescue Plan Act that has been committed by the Lamont administration to support community-based violence prevention programming. If proposed funding levels can be sustained, it could have a measurable impact on reducing gun homicide in Connecticut's urban centers.

This press release was produced by the CAGV. The views expressed here are the author’s own.