The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
‘Unprecedented’ investment on gun violence
While Connecticut has one of the lowest gun death rates in the nation, it still has an unacceptable level of gun violence which disproportionately affects Black and Hispanic communities in Connecticut’s largest cities.
Included in the $24 billion budget passed this week by the Connecticut General Assembly is an unprecedented level of spending of nearly $6 million to fund community gun violence prevention, intervention and aftercare programs. This investment to address the public health crisis of gun violence in Connecticut reflects the hard work of legislative leaders and the Lamont administration, and the support of numerous lawmakers.
Grassroots advocates led by Connecticut Against Gun Violence were also integral to the success, reaching out to legislators and Gov. Ned Lamont by the hundreds, testifying at public hearings and participating in lobby days at the Capitol during the past month. Proving the power of citizen engagement, their message was heard by lawmakers across the state: Connecticut needs to invest more to protect lives, and communities, from the crisis of community gun violence.
Making good on CAGV’s call to establish an Office of Gun Violence Prevention, of particular note is $400K from the General Fund that mandates the Department of Public Health to establish an ongoing grantmaking program to secure state, federal and other resources to support evidence-informed, community-centric gun violence intervention and prevention programs. The grants will work to address the root causes of gun violence and break the cycles of violence that too often turn deadly because of easy access to illegal guns.
While Connecticut has one of the lowest gun death rates in the nation, it still has an unacceptable level of gun violence which disproportionately affects Black and Hispanic communities in Connecticut’s largest cities. Last year, gun homicides reached 118, a 25-year high.
Active community involvement is critical to the program’s success, ensuring that the right solutions are brought to bear where they are most needed. This will be achieved by the newly established Commission on Community Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention, an outgrowth of the Advisory Council on Gun Violence Intervention and Prevention championed by Sen. Marilyn Moore (D-Bridgeport) last year. By overseeing the development of grant criteria, the commission will help to ensure American Rescue Plan Act funding of $2.4 million goes to the most effective programs, in the communities hardest hit by interpersonal gun violence, which accounts for the majority of Connecticut homicides. A required annual report by the DPH commissioner to the legislature’s Public Health Committee will also help to ensure accountability.
Additional ARPA spending and other funds in the budget earmarked for existing hospital-based violence intervention, violence interrupter and group-violence intervention programs will ensure continuity for existing efforts.
Creating a grant-making capacity for community-based gun violence reduction programs realizes a policy objective that CAGV initiated in 2020, when it launched the Connecticut Initiative to Prevent Community Gun Violence. The Connecticut Initiative is supported by more than 50 national, state and local partners, all of whom share a common goal of allowing residents of Connecticut to enjoy safe and healthy communities, wherever they live.
It is encouraging to see that state lawmakers and the Lamont administration recognize that solutions must go beyond strong gun laws and law enforcement. Those are necessary, but not sufficient, to address the public health crisis of gun violence that is taking so many lives in Connecticut, particularly of young men of color.
Spending on community-based gun violence reduction in the 2023 budget represents a significant increase from past years’ appropriations. However, reliable, ongoing funding of these programs will be needed to address the systemic issues that underlie much of the violence in urban communities. Since most of the appropriations for FY 2023 come from one-time ARPA grants, more stable sources of funding will be needed to support these programs in FY 2024 and beyond. Beyond the lives saved, funding gun violence prevention is fiscally sound: Giffords estimates that the direct cost to Connecticut taxpayers is around $90 million annually.