To The Editor:
I write to thank LymeLine, ValleyNewsNow and OldSaybrookNow for their coverage of Senator Linares’s recent vote against the gun control law enacted by the Connecticut Legislature with broad bipartisan support following the Newtown massacre.
Mr. Linares’s constituents have a right to know the reasons for his opposition, given the undeniable support in his district for child safety, the strong endorsement of the bill across party lines, and the uncertainty as to what credible alternative Mr. Linares is offering.
However, while the coverage of Senator Linares’s “no” vote is helpful, it was not altogether satisfying. The article reports that Mr. Linares issued a statement which “concluded the bill does not address the most important problems”. But it does not tell us how Mr. Linares reached that conclusion or what measures he would advocate instead.
Senator Linares reportedly said that he decided to vote against the gun law “after talking to many residents of the 33rd district”. If Mr. Linares means to suggest that his vote reflects the majority of his constituents’ views, I would guess that claim is almost certainly preposterous. To my knowledge, Mr. Linares never conducted a hearing on the issue in his district, and the extensive testimony he heard as a member of the Newtown Task Force led other legislators to broad bipartisan support for the measure. The true basis of Mr. Linares’s position remains a mystery.
Mr. Linares’s official website sheds no light on the matter either. As of today, April 19 – over two weeks after the bill’s enactment – Mr. Linares’s web site does not even mention his vote, let alone carry the statement described by the Valley News. Instead, when one consults the web site’s “in the news” section, one learns that in the aftermath of the legislation, Mr. Linares spent his time commending kindergartners for helping others, extolling the Haddam Shad Museum, and “high fiving” intermediate school students on tour of the State capitol.
One need not begrudge Senator Linares his “feel good” press releases or his energetic attempts to have them covered in the local press, no matter how modest the content. (See, for example, the 10 or so articles appearing in ValleyNewsNow since mid January extensively covering among other things Mr. Linares participation in various meetings, his tours of local factories, and even his attendance at someone else’s press conference) But they are not a substitute for keeping his district informed of what he is actually doing in Hartford and why.
The public’s right to know our representatives positions is not a partisan issue. It applies left, right and center. Again, the Newtown legislation is being cited as a model of bipartisan cooperation worthy of emulation at the national level. Residents of the 33rd District, whether they be Republican, Democrats, or Independents, deserve to understand why Mr. Linares took an outlier position on this historic legislation
Sincerely,
David Harfst,
Essex.
I would have to agree with Mr. Harfst’s analysis of Senator Linare’s actions. I find it hard to believe that if he spoke with a large sampling of his constituents he would have come to the conclusion that his district was opposed to this measure. As for his intentions…..to me they are obvious. He is positioning himself for the next rung on the ladder. He is positioning himself as a younger version of Marco Rubio (see the press releases from about Chris Christie’s and Rubio’s endorsements) and how he touts the fact that his grandparents emigrated from Cuba. Make no mistake, he is part of the Conservatives new branding effort. Replace the old white guys with new ethnic guys. Just don’t pull back the curtain or you will see the same agenda. He probably even alerted the NRA so they could score him. Never to early to start planning for future fund raisers.
Many thanks, Mr. Harfst for your thoughtful and well-reasoned letter in response to our state senator’s “no” vote on the recent state gun control bill (now law). Frankly, I was so irate I felt compelled to add a comment to both articles in LymeLine concerning Marilyn Giuliano and Art Linares’ “no” vote on the issue. (see LymeLine “politics”) Our elected representatives owe us more than half-baked excuses.
Incredibly well put. Thank you David Harfst for trying to hold our representatives responsible for their actions, or inactions. I doubt Mr. Linares will provide helpful information but I do sleep better at night knowing that at least other citizens of the Shoreline, if not our actual representatives at the state level, are capable of coherent thought and rational expectations. However unmet.
Actually, I applaud Senator Linares for protecting our second amendment rights. In my opinion, Mr. Linares did not get caught up in the emotional knee jerk reaction to Sandy Hook. Make no mistake, what happened at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown IS a horrific act and my heart goes out to them. The reality is that no gun laws would have prevented the evil that happened there.
During the Christmas season, we met with a former foster daughter. She now lives in Florida but knew Adam Lanza, the shooter. She met him in while attending CT state run psychological group therapy sessions. Her description of him as a teenager was “wacko scary”. The state of CT KNEW he had mental problems. Think about it, he killed his mother first before going to the school. Why don’t we focus more on mental health? Did you know that the state closed the mental hospital in Newtown, CT in 1995? Perhaps if that facility was still in existence, Adam Lanza might have had a different future than being one of the worst murderers in CT history.
Just as a comparison, in 2011 Planned Parenthood performed more than 330,000 abortions of innocent babies. Where is the justice in those murders?