Hundreds of protesters gathered outside a Greenwich fundraiser for Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley today.
The fundraiser was a campaign stop for Foley, and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie came to lend a hand.
The protest, organized by the pro-gun control group Newtown Action Alliance, was organized after Christie vetoed a New Jersey bill that would have banned gun magazines containing more than 10 rounds.
Katherine Moroski, a Newtown resident and mother, strongly disagreed with the veto. She argued that some Sandy Hook children survived the 2012 massacre because the shooter, Adam Lanza, was forced to reload his gun.
“Some of the children in that class said, when the bad man put down his gun, I ran behind him and I ran for my life to the firehouse,” Moroski said.
Nick Payne, a New Milford man who lost his daughter in another tragic shooting, also spoke out against the veto.
“She was a student at Northeastern [University]. She was 22-years-old and she was shot by a drug dealer who got the wrong address,” Payne said.
A small of group of supporters for Second Amendment rights stood on the opposite side of the street from the protest.
“Gun control is really not about the guns. It’s about control. It’s about taking liberty away from the people who are in that place where you’re passing those laws,” Dan McInerney said.
Before attending the private fundraiser Christie was asked by reporters why he vetoed the bill. His response was simple. “I don’t believe that the bill that was passed in New Jersey was an effective way to deal with it and so I vetoed it,” he said.
Tom Foley was also asked his opinion, but deflected from the issue of guns.
“I don’t really want to comment on the decisions he has to make in New Jersey. But here in Connecticut we have serious economic problems. We have one of the worst job recovery rates in the country so those are the things that are most on my mind,” Foley said.