CAGV Applauds Lamont $3M Investment In Violence Prevention

Press release from CT Against Gun Violence, Inc.:

April 29, 2021

While strong gun laws are essential for curbing gun violence in all of its forms, additional strategies can strengthen their effectiveness. This is particularly true of the ongoing public health crisis of community gun violence in Connecticut's cities. That is why CT Against Gun Violence has pursued a multi-dimensional strategy to reduce gun homicide that disproportionately victimizes communities of color. The strategy pairs gun regulations that reduce the flow of illegal guns with meaningful spending on evidenced-based, community-centric gun violence prevention and intervention programs.

CAGV welcomes the news just announced by Gov. Lamont's administration that it has proposed spending an additional $3 million over the next two years on community gun violence prevention programs, funded by the Biden administration's American Rescue Plan Act passed by Congress earlier this year.

Remarks CAGV executive director Jeremy Stein, "The Lamont administration's announcement to invest $3 million in community gun violence prevention is a welcome foundation for our proposed Connecticut Initiative to Prevent Community Gun Violence, which calls for just this kind of community-centric spending on the state and federal level, on a sustained basis."

The CT Initiative, proposed by CAGV last summer, would create a state-level grant-making authority—housed in an Office of Community Gun Violence Prevention—tasked with funding and implementing evidence-based, community-centric, programs and strategies to reduce street-level gun violence. Dedicated staff resources with multi-disciplinary expertise would bring the attention needed to address the magnitude of Connecticut’s community violence problem.

The CT Initiative has widespread support. To date, 32 organizations have partnered with CAGV in the effort to make the CT Initiative a reality. Seventy currently-seated state legislators have signaled support for the CT Initiative, responding in part to the urging of more than 850 CAGV supporters who have written Gov. Lamont and state legislators about the importance of doing more to reduce street-level gun violence in Connecticut's urban centers.

The Governor's proposed spending, which must be ratified by the legislature, is an important step towards making the CT Initiative a reality. CAGV will continue to work with the administration and legislature to ensure the State gets the money to where it's needed most, to the programs with the greatest potential for reducing street-level gun violence.

This press release was produced by CT Against Gun Violence, Inc. The views expressed here are the author's own.