The Republican candidate for governor said Tuesday he would support a state law prohibiting people who have temporary restraining orders against them from possessing a firearm.
“I said I support it,” Foley said outside Ansonia City Hall before embarking on a tour of Main Street with Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti.
“Can you put that in a longer sentence?” Ken Dixon, a state political reporter with the Connecticut Post, asked the candidate.
“No. I support it. Is there anything unclear about that?” Foley replied.
Earlier Tuesday, state Democrats held a conference call with reporters saying that Foley had remained silent on the initiative, which was proposed by his opponent, Democratic incumbent Dannel Malloy, last week.
Under the current system, a judge can order person to stay away from the individual who applies for a temporary restraining order — but can’t take weapons from the person until a hearing up to two weeks later.
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Malloy said any weapons should be taken away as soon as a judge issues a temporary restraining order.
Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman cast the measure as a way to protect women threatened by domestic violence.
“When it comes to domestic violence, hours count toward saving peoples’ lives,” Wyman said Tuesday.
Lori Gellatly, of Oxford, was shot and killed allegedly by her estranged husband, Scott, earlier this year.
Lori had received a temporary restraining order, but the hearing on whether it would become permanent — and have Scott’s guns taken away — had yet to be held.
Wyman criticized CCDL (the Connecticut Citizens Defense League) for opposing the governor’s initiative. She called the CCDL an “extreme gun lobby” and tied them to Foley.
“They (CCDL) said a restraining order is just a piece of paper. This is the same group that endorsed Tom Foley,” Wyman said.
But Foley said Tuesday the initiative makes sense.
“You have to balance the rights of people who feel they are at risk with other rights. I don’t think a two-week period is unreasonable,” Foley said.
Mark Bergman, a Malloy-Wyman spokesman, said Foley was succumbing to political pressure “after days of silence.”
“Why did he wait so long to say where he stands when the CCDL, an extreme pro-gun group, that endorsed his campaign said they opposed it,” Bergman said in an email. “Waiting for days to take a position on critical issue isn’t leadership.”
Scott Wilson Sr. is the CCDL president.
He said Malloy is clawing for votes.
“My take is: Gov. Malloy is getting desperate to make up lost ground, and the only way he thinks he can do that is by trying to make guns the centerpiece of his campaign, rather than his failed economic policies,” Wilson said in an email.
“Connecticut is last in too many areas, and Malloy is looking for a hiding place. In essence, the governor is playing a game of political Peek-a-boo!”
Finally, Wilson said his group is not “extreme.”
“We are made up of everyone from doctors and day laborers, lawyers and homemakers,” he said. “Our only common political issue is the protection of our natural right to self defense. There are people from all walks of life in our organization.”
Wilson said his group opposes the initiative because someone with the intent to kill isn’t going to stop just because a judge signs a piece of paper.
“If Sandy Hook taught people anything, it is that laws simply do not matter to people that determined to kill,” he said.
