Free Republic

The number of people seeking permits to buy guns has surged in this town following the December massacre of schoolchildren by a local man, even as the parents of some victims had urged stricter weapons laws nationwide. Through July 24, more than 200 people in Newtown have received new local pistol permits, according to a review of local records, surpassing the 171 new permits issued for all of last year. Such permits are prerequisites for Connecticut permits that allow people to purchase and carry pistols as well as rifles or shotguns. The rise in Newtown comes in tandem with a...

Seven months after 20 children and six educators were fatally shot in a Newtown elementary school, some local business owners said today that a financial downturn that began with road closings and an emotional pall over the town persists. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy visited downtown businesses to show support and learn how a $500,000 state grant intended to help local stores and restaurants is working. “It’s impressive,” he told reporters after a one-hour tour. “People are very positive.” But Andy Lafreniere, who owns Suzuki Music School, told the governor that business is not good. “We’d like people not to be...

More than 5,000 supporters of tighter controls on firearms crowded the state Capitol Thursday morning, demanding action from the General Assembly in the wake of the Newtown school massacre. "The American people have seen what happens in place after place...we cannot let what happened here in Connecticut ever be forgotten,'' Gov. Dannel P. Malloy told the crowd. "We will not rest until we have changed America. We will not rest until we have changed Connecticut." Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, among a host of elected leaders speaking to the rally, said that "we have to make sure that no one says...

Efforts to eliminate pork and offset spending from the Hurricane Sandy relief package failed ... ... Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) offered another amendment that added $33.7 billion ... the Frelinghuysen amendment. According to Patrick Louis Knudsen of the Heritage Foundation: One of the most stunning elements in the amendment is $16 billion for the Community Development Block Grant, a slush fund that states and localities can hand out pretty much anywhere they choose. The amendment contains several pages of language ostensibly aimed at restricting use of the funds, but also says they can be applied to “other eligible events in...

Former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter spoke at the first meeting of the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission in Hartford on Thursday and had a strong message for the panelists: The nation is watching. Ritter was a district attorney at the time of the Columbine High School mass shooting in Littleton and was asked to speak before the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission, which was created by Gov. Dannel Malloy. "The nation is watching and wants to understand how these tragic events continue to occur," Ritter said. Ritter was asked to speak about what he has learned since the Columbine shooting. "I think...