Chris Murphy on Gun ControlSenate Challenger; Democratic Rep. (CT-5) | |
"Arming teachers is one of the most dangerous ideas that anyone could ever come up with for our school children," Murphy said. "Teachers don't want to be armed. Parents don't want schools to be armed. Kids don't want their schools to be armed. We are going to do everything n our power to make sure that Department of Education funds, taxpayer dollars, do not get used to put weapons in our classrooms."
The plan prompted swift condemnation from Democratic lawmakers and many educators, who accused the Trump administration of wanting to deprive students of much-needed mental health support and other resources in the interests of the National Rifle Association.
As Connecticut enacted stricter gun control legislation in the state, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy stepped up calls for stricter gun control laws on a federal level.
He introduced an amendment that would block the Education Department from using the funds to arm schools [as the Trump administration is considering]. "Teachers' jobs are already hard enough," Murphy said. "We ask teachers to do more today than we ever have before."
He said teachers are stretched thin today and don't have the ability to be trained in firearms and to safely manipulate and store weapons in schools. "The Secretary of Education cares more about the firearms industry's bottom line than the safety of our kids, and that should scare parents to death," Murphy said .
In nearly four years since Sandy Hook, the carnage in our streets has not abated. Gun homicides remain as regular as raindrops in our urban cores. And terrorist organizations, they now see the assault weapon, rather than the hijacked airplane or the improvised explosive device, as their primary opportunity for mass slaughter in America. Stopping dangerous style military assault weapons from flooding our streets is now one of the most effective tools we have to combat terrorism.
The dysfunction in our dialogue over guns [is because gun policy on] the right half of the political spectrum has nothing to do with gun laws and everything to do with abstract concepts of liberty & freedom & revolution.
The gun industry in cahoots with the gun lobby, the NRA and the Gun Owners of America, they've created a fantasy construct of a world in which citizens need to arm themselves against an out of control government. Instead of one gun, you need 10 or 20 or 40 so that you can arm yourself and your neighborhood when the black helicopters start landing in your backyards. Oh, and you better also stockpile a year's worth of ammunition just in case.
Murphy said lobbying by the National Rifle Association makes such legislation nearly impossible in Washington. "The NRA has more control over Congress than almost any other political interest group there," he said.
Proponent's Argument for voting Yes: Sen. BLUMENTHAL: This amendment would ban high-capacity magazines which are used to kill more people more quickly and, in fact, have been used in more than half the mass shootings since 1982. I ask my colleagues to listen to law enforcement, their police, prosecutors who are outgunned by criminals who use these high-capacity magazines. I ask that my colleagues also listen to the families of those killed by people who used a high-capacity magazine.
Opponent's Argument for voting No: Sen. GRASSLEY. I oppose the amendment. In 2004, which is the last time we had the large-capacity magazine ban, a Department of Justice study found no evidence banning such magazines has led to a reduction in gun violence. The study also concluded it is not clear how often the outcomes of the gun attack depend on the ability of offenders to fire more than 10 shots without reloading. Secondly, there is no evidence banning these magazines has reduced the deaths from gun crimes. In fact, when the previous ban was in effect, a higher percentage of gun crime victims were killed or wounded than before it was adopted. Additionally, tens of millions of these magazines have been lawfully owned in this country for decades. They are in common use, not unusually dangerous, and used by law-abiding citizens in self-defense, as in the case of law enforcement.
Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act
The Christian Coalition Voter Guide inferred whether candidates agree or disagree with the statement, 'Further Restrictions on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms' Christian Coalition's self-description: "Christian Voter Guide is a clearing-house for traditional, pro-family voter guides. We do not create voter guides, nor do we interview or endorse candidates."
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2017-18 Governor, House and Senate candidates on Gun Control: | Chris Murphy on other issues: | |||
CT Gubernatorial: Bob Stefanowski Dan Malloy Danny Drew David Walker Joe Visconti Larry Kudlow Linda McMahon Mark Lauretti Ned Lamont Peter Lumaj Prasad Srinivasan Tom Foley CT Senatorial: Ann-Marie Adams August Wolf Dan Carter Jack Orchulli Matthew Corey Richard Blumenthal Tom Foley Freshman class of 2019: "Freshman class" means "not in Congress in January 2017", with exceptions: * Special election, so sworn in other than Jan. 2019 ** Served in Congress in a previous term *** Lost recount or general election |
Freshman class of January 2019 (Republicans):
AZ-8*:Lesko CA-39***:Kim FL-6:Waltz ; FL-15:Spano ; FL-17:Steube GA-7:Woodall ID-1**:Fulcher IN-4:Baird IN-6:Pence KS-2:Watkins MN-1:Hagedorn ; MN-8:Stauber MS-3:Guest MT-0*:Gianforte NC-9***:Harris ND-a:Armstrong NM-2***:Herrell OH-12*:Balderson ; OH-16:Gonzalez OK-1:Hern PA-9:Meuser ; PA-11**:Smucker ; PA-12*:Keller ; PA-13:Joyce ; PA-14:Reschenthaler SC-4:Timmons SD-0:Johnson TN-2:Burchett ; TN-6:Rose ; TN-7:Green TX-2:Crenshaw ; TX-3:Taylor ; TX-5:Gooden ; TX-6:Wright ; TX-21:Roy ; TX-27*:Cloud VA-5:Riggleman ; VA-6:Cline WI-1:Steil WV-3:Miller |
Freshman class of January 2019 (Democrats):
AZ-2**:Kirkpatrick ; AZ-9:Stanton CA-49:Levin ; CA-10:Harder ; CA-21:Cox ; CA-25:Hill ; CA-39:Cisneros ; CA-45:Porter ; CA-48:Rouda CO-2:Neguse ; CO-6:Crow CT-5:Hayes FL-26:Mucarsel-Powell ; FL-27:Shalala GA-6:McBath HI-1**:Case IA-1:Finkenauer ; IA-3:Axne IL-4:Garcia ; IL-6:Casten ; IL-14:Underwood KS-3:Davids KY-6***:McGrath MA-3:Trahan ; MA-7:Pressley MD-6:Trone ME-2:Golden MI-8:Slotkin ; MI-9:Levin ; MI-13:Tlaib ; MI-13*:Jones ; MI-11:Stevens MN-2:Craig ; MN-3:Phillips ; MN-5:Omar NC-9***:McCready NH-1:Pappas NJ-2:Van Drew ; NJ-3:Kim ; NJ-7:Malinowski ; NJ-11:Sherrill NM-1:Haaland ; NM-2:Torres Small NV-3:Lee ; NV-4**:Horsford NY-14:Ocasio-Cortez ; NY-11:Rose ; NY-19:Delgado ; NY-22:Brindisi ; NY-25:Morelle OK-5:Horn PA-4:Dean ; PA-5:Scanlon ; PA-6:Houlahan ; PA-7:Wild ; PA-17*:Lamb SC-1:Cunningham TX-7:Fletcher ; TX-16:Escobar ; TX-29:Garcia ; TX-32:Allred UT-4:McAdams VA-2:Luria ; VA-7:Spanberger ; VA-10:Wexton WA-8:Schrier |
Abortion
Budget/Economy Civil Rights Corporations Crime Drugs Education Energy/Oil Environment Families Foreign Policy Free Trade Govt. Reform Gun Control Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Jobs Principles Social Security Tax Reform Technology War/Peace Welfare/Poverty Candidate Information: Main Page Profile CT politicians Contact info: Campaign website: www.chrismurphy.com Fax Number: 202-225-4488 Mailing Address: Cannon HOB 412, Washington, DC 20515 Official Website |