Senator Linares extends a greeting at lunch for seniors in Old Saybrook
State Senator Art Linares joined a well-attended lunch on Thursday, April 25, at the Estuary Council of Seniors at 200 Main Street in Old Saybrook. The Senator, whose district includes Lyme, Chester, Deep River, Essex, Westbrook and parts of Old Saybrook, as well as six other Connecticut towns, did not deliver a formal address at the lunch.
Rather, the 24-year-old state legislator sat at a table with a group of seniors for his lunch and, after a brief greeting to all, he circulated around the dining hall shaking hands and engaging in small talk with diners. In all, there were close to 100 seniors attending the lunch. The cost per person for an Estuary lunch is $3.
Linares’s ‘No’ Vote on the New Gun Control Law
After the lunch, the Senator consented to a discussion of his views on the state’s new gun control law. The law was recently passed by the state legislature and signed into law by the Governor. Linares cast his “no” vote on the gun control bill in the State Senate.
Asked to give his reasons for voting against gun control bill, the Senator said, “The legislation outlaws 100 kinds of guns.” He continued, “Most guns are used for self-defense,” and citizens should have, “… the freedom to defend themselves.”
Continuing, he said, the new law, by imposing so many restrictions on the ownership of guns, “could create a black market” in the sale of guns. He also opined that taking away guns from common citizens could have the effect of being “dangerous to law enforcement officers.” He said, “My concern is the police officers.”
In addition, the Senator stressed that the new gun law bill was moving so fast through the state legislature, “I did not have a chance to read the bill.” Summing up his position, the first term Senator said that the state’s new gun control law “went too far and was too extreme.” He also said that he had heard that, “they are confiscating guns” from private citizens, although he gave no specifics.
Representative Giuliano Voted “No” on New Gun Law
In discussing his “no” vote on gun control legislation, the Senator said that a number of other local legislators had voted against the bill. He mentioned, specifically, State Representative Marilyn Giuliano, who voted “no” on the gun control bill in the House of Representatives. Giuliano represents the towns of Lyme, Old Lyme and Old Saybrook, and she is the Assistant Republican Leader of the lower House of the legislature.