Bronin: Remove NRA from statute

David Stemerman, a hedge fund billionaire from Greenwich, officially announced he’s running for governor earlier this week, but the map on his campaign sign was a little off.

Either Stemerman has plans to take over a small nub of Massachusetts that nudges into the Northwest corner of the Nutmeg state, or his graphics team just got the map wrong and left out Connecticut’s notch.

Bronin asks state to remove NRA from statute

Hartford mayor and gubernatorial candidate Luke Bronin is asking state legislative leaders and Governor Dannel P. Malloy to end the National Rifle Association’s role in Connecticut’s firearms permitting process.

“The NRA may once have focused on promoting responsible gun ownership, but today they serve as lobbyists for the gun industry and as intransigent opponents of common-sense reforms to America’s gun laws,” Bronin wrote in a letter to the governor and legislators. “I am concerned that Connecticut is inadvertently supporting this organization by providing it recognition in state statute.”

In order to obtain firearms permits, Connecticut residents must go through basic safety training certified by the NRA and similar groups, per state statute. The State Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection explicitly refers people interested in obtaining a pistol permit to a handgun safety course, which must consist of no less than the NRA's Basic Pistol Course.

“Hartford knows the tragedy of gun violence all too well, and it’s unacceptable that Connecticut law legitimizes the NRA — and effectively requires residents to support the NRA — even as the NRA blocks commonsense gun safety laws at the national level,” Bronin said in a statement. “Without common-sense gun laws at the national level, residents of the City of Hartford and of our state as a whole will continue to see guns from states with weaker gun laws used in crimes.”

Fourth GOP gubernatorial debate postponed

The fourth district gubernatorial debate hosted by the Connecticut Republican Party has been postponed because of predicted inclement weather.

The debate, which was set to take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Saxe Middle School in New Canaan, has been rescheduled for April 18 at the same time and place. Tickets purchased for the original date are transferable.

Party chairman J.R. Romano said around 500 tickets have been sold for the event.

The fifth district debate will still take place April 4 at New Britain High School as scheduled.

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