The League of Women Voters supports the abolition of the Electoral College and, until that goal is reached, the use of the National Popular Vote Compact to achieve the election of the President by direct popular vote. The National Popular Vote bill guarantees the presidency to the winner of the popular vote in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It replaces the “winner-take-all” rule with a system based on the concept of “one person, one vote.” The National Popular Vote bill ensures that every vote is equal and every vote matters in a presidential election. To date, the National Popular Vote bill has been enacted by nine states possessing 132 electoral votes – 49% of the 270 electoral votes needed to activate the National Popular Vote Compact. It’s time Connecticut joined its neighbors – Massachusetts, Vermont and New Jersey – in adopting the National Popular Vote bill. Please contact your senator today and urge him or her to support the National Popular Vote bill (SB 432) that is currently on the Senate calendar (contact information appears below). Tell your senator that you believe that every vote should be equal and every vote should matter in a presidential election – whether you live in a swing state like Florida or Ohio or not like Connecticut. As the pervasive gerrymandering of congressional districts continues, it creates the potential for abuse of the Electoral College. It is more important than ever that we preserve the democratic ideal of making each vote count. Please take action TODAY and then forward this message far and wide. Main Switchboard: Senate Democrats (800) 842-1420 or (860) 240-8600 Senate Republicans (800) 842-1421 or (860) 240-8800 You can find your senator’s e-mail by going to: http://www.cga.ct.gov Thank you. Together we can make a difference! Christine Horrigan LWVCT Government Director
A Call to Action!Our Legislators continue meetings in Hartford to finalize their response to the Sandy Hook tragedy, and legislation is expected to come to a vote shortly. WE NEED YOUR HELP TO PASS COMPREHENSIVE GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION LEGISLATION THAT COVERS:- Universal Background Checks
- Ban High Capacity Ammunition Magazines
- Update the Assault Weapons Ban
- Stricter Firearm Storage Requirements
- Permits for Rifles
Tell Your State Legislators to Pass Stronger Gun Laws NOW.Speak Up TODAY!It's easy: E-mail: Go to CT General Assembly Website ( www.cga.ct.gov) and click on SENATE and HOUSE to find your lawmakers. Telephone: Senate Democrats (800) 842-1420 Senate Republicans (800) 842-1421 Senate Leaders - President Pro Tempore Donald E. Williams (D)
- Majority Leader Martin M. Looney (D)
- Minority Leader John McKinney (R)
House Democrats (800) 842-8267 House Republicans (800) 842-8270 House Leaders - Speaker of the House Brendan Sharkey (D)
- Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz (D)
- Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero, Jr. (R)
Join CT Against Gun Violence for Lobby Day on Wednesday, March 13CAGV "Next Steps" 3/13 Meeting Planned: 10 AM at the Legislative Office Building, (300 Capitol Ave., Hartford) Room 1-A followed by meetings with your legislators from 11am - 1pm. See www.CAGV.org.Make Connecticut Safe for Our Children and Ourselves
Stand in Support of Sensible Gun Laws at the Jan 28 Public Hearing at 1:30 pmFor additional details, please see www.lwvct.org/gun-laws We know that many of you are planning on attending Monday's special Bipartisan Task Force On Gun Violence Prevention And Children's Safety working group public hearing on Monday 1/28. Thank you! We have just found out that the public hearing has been moved to 1:30 PM and will be preceded by an informational forum from 10AM to 1PM. See details below from the CGA legislative bulletin. Only designated members can speak on behalf of the League. However, you should consider speaking as an individual, not as a League spokesperson, at the hearing. Speaking from the heart can be as effective as speaking from a policy perspective in encouraging legislators to make needed changes in laws. If you would like to speak, note the requirements below, e.g., sign-up,thirty copies of testimony, and so on. Make your trip doubly-productive by stopping by the offices of your delegation and the members of the Task Force to leave messages with their aides. The Task Force list is provided on the right. You can be certain that opponents to sensible changes in gun laws will be out in force. Even if you do not wish to speak, attending the hearing is critical! Legislators need to see overwhelming public support for change. Whether or not you attend Monday's hearing, you can let your voice be heard by sending comments to: asaferconnecticut@cga.ct.gov. Please indicate in the subject of your email to which working group(s) you would like your testimony directed (gun violence prevention, school security, and/or mental health services). You, friends and family have talked about the horrific Newtown tragedy and how sensible changes to our gun laws must be made to our to prevent similar tragedies in the future and to help reduce gun violence in our state. NOW IS THE TIME TO TELL LEGISLATORS WHAT YOU THINK.
Together we can make a difference - thank you!Regards, Cheryl Dunson, President Alison Rivard, Social Policy Director
The League of Women Voters of CT has long supported measures to protect the health and safety of citizens through regulating the ownership of handguns and semi-automatic weapons.FOUR THINGS YOU CAN DO NOW IN LIGHT OF THE NEWTOWN GUN TRAGEDY1. Contact CT legislators and demand stronger guns laws. Your message can be as simple as:I urge your staunch support for passage of sensible gun laws in CT. It is imperative to ban large capacity ammunition magazines in Connecticut and to strengthen Connecticut's assault weapons ban.
Or you can use LWVCT's statement sent to legislators as a basis for your own statement. - Locate the members of the legislative committees who have jurisdiction over gun law proposals.
Judiciary: http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/MemberList.asp?comm_code=JUD Public Safety and Security: http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/MemberList.asp?comm_code=PS And don't underestimate the value of speaking on the phone to the aides of legislators. It is a good way to underscore your call for action in addition to emails and letters. Senate Democrats (800) 842-1420 or (860) 240-8600 Republicans (800) 842-1421 or (860) 240-8800 House Democrats (800) 842-8267 or (860) 240-8500 Republicans (800) 842-8270 or (860) 240-8700 2. Join the parents and families at the March for Change at the State Capitol in Hartford on February 14, 11:00 - 1:00 to demand safer gun laws:3. Spearhead the passage of a resolution in your hometown in support of reasonable gun laws. Contact your local League to let them know of your interest in doing so. 4. Become a 10-Minute Activist -- or if you are, encourage others to do so. By joining our grassroots lobby corps, you will receive e-mailed Action Alerts on gun law proposals and other areas of your interest. You provide a voice from your community, a phone call, a letter to a legislator, or just a "heads-up" to others who might be interested. To join, go to: We are coordinating with LWVUS and monitoring gun law developments and proposals at the federal level. At this time, we urge your action for sensible gun laws in Connecticut.Together we can make a difference!Cheryl Dunson, PresidentAlison Rivard, Social Policy DirectorSue McCalley, Gun Laws Specialist
The CT Secretary of the State is advocating this session for a Constitutional Amendment Re: Absentee Ballot Use, On-line Registration and Election Day Registration (EDR). The League of Women Voters of Connecticut supports these election law changes that make the act of voting more accessible to all citizens,legally entitled to do so, by reducing the barriers to registration and use of the absentee ballot. These issues are being addressed in HJ 2, Resolution Proposing an Amendment to the State Constitution to Allow for No-Excuse Absentee Voting and HB 5024, AA Concerning Voting Rights.
PLEASE CONTACT YOUR SENATOR AND REPRESENTATIVE TODAY AND TELL THEM TO VOTE YES ON HJ 2 and HB 5024
E-mail: CT General Assembly Website at www.cga.ct.gov and then click on left for Senate and House links.
Telephone:- Senate Democrats (800) 842-1420 or (860) 240-8600
- Senate Republicans (800) 842-1421 or (860) 240-8800
- House Democrats (800) 842-8267 or (860) 240-8500
- House Republicans (800) 842-8270 or (860) 240-8700
HJ 2: Why support a Constitutional Amendment? The Constitutional Amendment would give the General Assembly the power to pass laws to provide means for persons to vote who do not appear in person at a polling place on the day of the election. At present language in the Constitution creates barriers to absentee voting by limiting allowable qualifications. HB 5024: Why support Election Day Registration?- EDR states consistently boast higher voter turnout rates than non-EDR states.
- EDR assists young people and people who move frequently for schools, jobs and family.
- EDR reduces the need for provisional ballots and allows eligible voters who may have been mistakenly left off the voting rolls to cast a meaningful ballot.
- EDR is cost effective and no more difficult to administer than provisional/presidential ballots. A 2002 study conducted by the Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project found no evidence that elections are more expensive to administer in EDR states than in non-EDR states.
HB 5024: Why support On-line Registration? Use of a web-based voter registration function with interplay between the DMV and Statewide Voter file will be a cost-saver as it streamlines the process, saves printing needs and creates a more accurate voter file. Studies have shown that costs per voter registration can drop from $0.83 to $0.03. Election Laws are a priority for League advocacy. LWVCT has supported Election Day Registration for years. HJ 2 and HB 5024 will get a public hearing by the Government Administration and Elections Committee, currently scheduled for Friday, March 2. Please ask your legislators to support these bills. Sincerely, Cheryl Dunson, President Catharine Sturgess, Government Director Susan Voris, Election Laws Specialist League of Women Voters of Connecticut
How can you fight back against the big money pouring into the political campaigns this year? Sign the petition on The White House website* urging President Obama to appoint new commissioners to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The FEC is supposed to be the government agency that enforces campaign finance laws, but it isn’t working and hasn’t for a long time. Of the six commissioners at the agency, three of them simply refuse to enforce the law, and five of the six are serving despite the fact that their terms expired some time ago. It is time to clean house and President Obama is the one that needs to do something about it. Click here to urge President Obama to clean house at the Federal Election Commission (FEC). If you are tired of the millions of dollars flooding our political campaigns courtesy of SuperPACs, sign the petition and help us reach our goal of at least 25,000 signatures of support by February 10, 2012. Don’t just sign it yourself; post the petition on Facebook, Tweet about it and forward this note to all of your friends. Together, we can make sure that the votes of millions of Americans are more valuable to our elections than a big pile of money. * In order to successfully sign the petition, you will need to create an account on WhiteHouse.gov and respond to a confirmation email. If you need guidance on creating this account please use our helpful step-by-step guide to creating your account and signing the petition.
Under H.R. 822, a state’s laws about who can be licensed and carry concealed weapons would not apply. The law would require the states to recognize each other’s carry permits, just as they recognize drivers’ licenses. Call or email your representative today and tell them that this law, if passed, would conflict with and undermine current Connecticut permit and licensing gun laws. Connecticut has some of the most stringent gun laws in the country, including a suitability standard, and these laws have broad public support within the state. Connecticut is a “May-Issue” state, and its law enforcement agencies are not required by law to issue permits to carry handguns to those who are not considered to be suitable persons to possess or carry a handgun. Other states that are “Shall-Issue” or worse still “Unrestricted” have no such provisions, and their citizens would be permitted to carry concealed weapons into our state with no input from law enforcement agents anywhere. Therefore, the possibility exists that some visitors with concealed weapons would have been denied a permit if they were Connecticut residents and that would set a dangerous precedent. Note: Representative Courtney is a co-sponsor and if you are in his district please ask him to reconsider. You may email your representative via their websites or phone contacts are listed below. PLEASE ACT TODAY Contact information: 1st District: John B. Larson, East Hartford CT Phone: (860) 278-8888 D.C. Phone: (202) 225-2265 Website: http://larson.house.gov/ 2nd District: Joseph Courtney, Vernon CT Phone: (860) 886-0139 D.C. Phone: (202) 225-3076 Website: http://courtney.house.gov/ 3rd District: Rosa L. DeLauro, New Haven CT Phones: (203) 562-3718 (New Haven) (203) 378-9005 (Stratford) (860) 344-1159 (Middletown) D.C. Phone: (202) 225-3661 Website: http://delauro.house.gov/ 4th District: Jim Himes, Greenwich CT Phones: (203) 210-7711, 866-453-0028 D.C. Phone: (202) 225-5541 Website: http://himes.house.gov/ 5th District: Christopher Murphy, Cheshire CT Phone: (860) 223-8412 D.C. Phone: (202) 225-4476 Website: http://chrismurphy.house.gov/
Two years ago, the Connecticut General Assembly voted to repeal the death penalty only to see Governor Rell veto the bill. With Governor Malloy at the helm, we have a real opportunity to repeal the death penalty in Connecticut this year if we act now. Senate Bill 1035 An Act Repealing the Death Penalty has been voted favorably out of the Judiciary Committee and is now before the senate for a vote. Please contact your senator TODAY and ask him/her to VOTE YES ON SB 1035 to repeal the death penalty. SB 1035 replaces the death penalty with life imprisonment without the possibility of release. At the public hearing on March 7 the LWVCT submitted testimony stating in part, that the death penalty as a deterrent is not provable, the death penalty causes additional harm to victims' families subjecting them to years of media attention, and that the death penalty costs more than life imprisonment without parole. Main Switchboard: Senate Democrats (800) 842-1420 or (860) 240-8600 Senate Republicans (800) 842-1421 or (860) 240-8800 You can find your senator's e-mail by going to: http://www.cga.ct.gov The vote could happen at any time. Please take action TODAY and then forward this message far and wide.Thank you. Together we can make a difference! Ellen McBride, LWVCT, Death Penalty Specialist Christine Horrigan, LWVCT, VP of Public Issues
Our Assault Weapons Ban prohibited the sale and possession of "selective-fire" weapons. SB 547 would remove the language that prohibits these extremely powerful firearms that are capable of fully automatic, semi-automatic, or burst fire at the option of the user. The NRA is bombarding legislators with phone calls, letters, and emails urging them to lift the ban and allow the purchase and possession of these dangerous weapons including this select fire HK MP5: Members of the legislature need to hear our voice NOW. Please take 2 minutes and: 1. Call your Senator and Representative 2. Email your Senator and Representative 3. Forward this alert to 3 friends who agree that we need to take this important step to help stop gun violence! That's it - it's so easy, and it does so much! Thank you for your support! Cheryl Dunson, President
The alert below comes from CT Fund for the Environment, one of the League's coalition partners. We hope that you will take action via phone or email. Though Connecticut is a relatively water-rich state, we must still plan carefully and use our resources wisely to make sure there is enough water available for human needs and enough to keep our rivers healthy and flowing. State agencies, environmental advocates and the water industry have been working together to create regulations that ensure that balance, but nowSB 1020 threatens to undo that work. 1. Please call or email the Senate leadership today: - Sen. Don Williams, President Pro Tempore 800-842-1420 email
- Sen. Martin Looney, Senate Majority Leader 800-842-1420 email
Tell them: "Please make sure that SB 1020, AAC Water Resources and Economic Development, gets sent to the Environment Committee. As the committee charged with considering Connecticut's environmental health and natural resources, they should have a chance to address the bill. Please use your leadership to see that this bill is stopped. It would render streamflow protection meaningless and threatens the progress being made on revised regulations." 2. Then please call these leaders of the Environment Committee: Sen. Ed Meyer, co-chair 800-842-1420 email Rep. Dick Roy, co-chair 800-842-8267 email Rep. Clark Chapin, ranking 800-842-1423 email And any of your own legislators who may be on the committee. Tell them: "Please stop SB 1020, AAC Water Resources and Economic Development. Stakeholders are already working together on a balanced approach that can get the support of all parties. This bill threatens that process. This bill would render the idea of streamflow protection meaningless by including a laundry list of poorly-defined exceptions that could prioritize industrial and municipal uses over environmental needs, even when there's plenty of water to go around. Currently 1 in 8 Connecticut rivers are faced with inadequate flow. We can and must make sure our rivers have enough water to sustain fish and other life, while planning for the needs of our communities."
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