Newtown Action Alliance Encourages Governor Ned Lamont to Remove Gun Shops from the Essential Business List Amid the Coronavirus Crisis 

For Immediate Release

March 23, 2020

Press Contact:

John Kelley

917-679-6475

jkelley@newtownaction.org

Newtown Action Alliance Encourages Governor Ned Lamont to Remove Gun Shops from the Essential Business List Amid the Coronavirus Crisis 

Newtown, CT- Po Murray, Chairwoman of Newtown Action Alliance released the following statement:

“Newtown Action Alliance urges Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont to remove gun shops from the essential business list in his “Stay Safe. Stay at Home“ executive order to mitigate the spread of Coronavirus. There has been an unprecedented surge in gun and ammunition purchases during the last few weeks. Panic buying of guns and ammunition will result in more guns in homes with children, domestic violence victims and individuals with suicidal ideation, resulting in an increased number of deaths due to unintentional shootings, homicides and suicides. 

“Governors from CaliforniaDelawareNew JerseyNew York, and Pennsylvania have not included gun shops on their essential business lists. We are not sure why Governor Ned Lamont decided to add gun shops as essential businesses in his executive order to deal with the Coronavirus pandemic in the State of Connecticut. 

“We need all governors across the nation to help stop panic buying of guns and ammunition during our national emergency. The last thing we need during a pandemic are more guns and ammunition in our homes and in our communities. The governors should not be helping the NRA and other corporate gun lobby groups to use fear to gin up gun sales for the gun industry. 

“During a time of crisis, we need our leaders from Connecticut and beyond to remind Americans that guns don’t make us safer. The corporate gun lobby has spread the myth that more guns are needed to keep Americans safe when in reality nearly 400 million civilian-owned guns in America have not stopped 40,000 annual gun deaths and thousands of gun injuries. Multiple studies have concluded that where there are more guns, there are more gun deaths and more guns do not stop more crimes.”

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Newtown Action Alliance (http://alliance.newtownaction.org/) is a Newtown-based, national grassroots organization formed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings. Our mission is to achieve the steady and continuous reduction of gun violence through legislative and cultural changes.