Governor Addresses Spike In CT Gun Violence

CONNECTICUT —Defensing Connecticut as "one of the safest states in the country," Gov. Ned Lamont nevertheless said he recognized a need for greater gun control. "We are not immune."

Speaking during a news conference at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford Monday, the governor said he would be directing $5 million in CARES Act funding towards the creation of regional data centers, expanding community outreach and "establishing multi-jurisdictional strategies and collaboration."

"We'll be able to track: track forensics, track shell casings, track where this gun came from, where this car came from, and be able to do this on a regional basis," Lamont said.

The problem needs more than just the state throwing money at it, Lamont cautioned. Gun control needs to be a focus on the federal level to be effective, he said.

"These guns come down from Vermont, they come up from Georgia, they don't just move from one town to the next." Nearly half the guns recovered from crime scenes in Connecticut come from out of state, according to advocacy group CT Against Gun Violence.

The second vector in the state's approach to addressing escalating gun violence needs to come from the municipal angle, Lamont said.

"It's not all about law and order, it's about understanding what our population has been through over this last year and a half, particularly our young people."

Towns, the governor said, need to help young people "get off the streets, help them stay cool, help them get back in the game... give people a little bit of hope, and a little bit of opportunity."

At 61 percent of the total, gun suicides accounted for the greatest number of gun deaths in the state, according to CTAGV.