Shrinking arsenal

Despite dwindling political contributions amid stricter campaign laws, the National Rifle Association maintains a presence in Connecticut

STAMFORD — State Rep. Caroline Simmons, an outspoken advocate for gun control in recent weeks, and her husband Art Linares, a Republican state senator, have said they have differing views on policy, and gun control may be chief among them.

While Simmons in March roused a crowd of nearly 3,000 gun-control supporters at a student-led rally in Stamford and argued for the “strictest gun laws possible” during a visit to an eighthgrade classroom last week, Linares is one of only two General Assembly members in Hartford to receive support from the National Rifle Association in recent years. The political odd couple — Linares rated 93 percent approval by the NRA and Simmons rated 7 percent, according to VoteSmart.org — who made headlines last year for their marriage, appear to highlight the NRA’s tepid interest in Connecticut.

The powerful gun-rights lobbying group, which spent nearly $413 million in 2016, according to tax fillings, has spent very little here, especially after 2006, and even then just a fraction of spending in neighboring New York and New Jersey. However, the support for Linares underscores the group’s presence in Hartford, and, though careful to adhere to strict state campaign finance laws, it’s still interested in keeping a footprint in a state where each dollar it spends ROWLAND CONVICTED CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAW