HARTFORD, Conn. — Protestors made their voices heard outside of the University of Hartford Friday as President Joe Biden made his way inside for the Safer Communities Summit. UHart’s campus falls under West Hartford and Hartford jurisdiction.
A presidential visit to the Nutmeg State on the heels of Gov. Ned Lamont signing his signature gun bill into law. GOP leaders said President Biden and Democratic leaders should have taken their message over a mile away into Hartford’s North End where shootings are more common.
Before President Joe Biden’s motorcade left Bradley Airport, about a dozen protestors carrying American, Trump 2024, and Don’t Tread on Me flags expressed outrage against Connecticut’s weeks-old new gun law that builds on laws passed in the wake of the Shooting at Sandy Hook School—most notably banning the right to open carry.
Former West Hartford city councilor Joe Visconti said open carry is necessary for the protection in Hartford.
“People are being preyed on in the inner cities. They’re not safe down there. So, I’ll put it on my holster and a criminal’s not going to come near me or my truck,” Visconti said.
Earlier this week, a Capital City clerk reportedly shot a would-be robber in self-defense leaving a suspect in critical condition. Visconti pointed to that incident on Park Street Tuesday as one of several reasons he wants the new law challenged constitutionally.
“Criminals don’t carry guns. Criminals don’t telegraph that they’re going to commit crimes. This law is against law-abiding citizens,” he said.
On campus, President Biden met with families of mass shooting victims but Connecticut Republican Party leaders said the visit does nothing to address ongoing gun violence in Connecticut's inner cities.
“It’s simply about optics and to try to make people feel good. It’s not going to do one thing to solve the problem that we see in Hartford and around the state and around this country,” Connecticut Republican Party Chairman Ben Proto said. “I think the President and Governor Lamont and Senators Murphy and Blumenthal would be better if they just stood on the corner in the North End.”
In a prepared statement, Holly Sullivan, President of the Connecticut Citizens Defense League said, “Gun control advocates have now coined themselves as gun safety advocates. Responsible firearm owners lawfully possess and use guns daily. Many are instructors or volunteer at their local sportsmen’s clubs and ranges. These are the individuals who are true gun safety advocates, not those who have little first-hand experience with a firearm.”
Protestor Maria McNamara of West Hartford said she’s standing against ideals Biden supports.
“For me personally, it is about our freedoms and how we shouldn’t be told what to do or what to do with our own bodies or what to do with our children and we’re exposing our children to things when my kids grew up were never, never talked about,” she said.
Samaia Hernandez is a reporter for FOX61 News. She can be reached at shernandez@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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