A bill that would allow undocumented immigrants to apply for a driver’s license received final passage Wednesday night as a group of advocates watched from the Senate balcony.

Continue reading "Senate Sends Driver’s Licenses for Undocumented Immigrants Bill to Gov’s Desk" »

Tags: immigration, drivers license, james manship, CONECT, Gary LeBeau

Connecticut’s legislators are about to do something crazier than Mike Tyson’s face tattoo: create a state licensing scheme for tattoo artists.

Continue reading "OP-ED | Legislators Do Their Best Mike Tyson on Tattoos" »

Tags: connecticut, tattoos, mike tyson, licenses, regulation, health risk, heath w. fahle, dh

Draft legislation released by the governor’s office calls for making special exceptions to the state’s Freedom of Information law as it applies to records of the victims of the Dec. 14 massacre in Newtown.

Continue reading "Narrowly Tailored Bill Seeks To Keep Some Newtown Records Secret" »

Tags: FOI, freedom of information, newtown, Hugh McQuaid, dh

The Hartford Police and three of the city’s trauma centers will join new sponsors Saturday, May 18, in what they hope will be largest gun buyback in Hartford to date.

Continue reading "Capital Region Gun Buyback Program Will Be Anonymous" »

Tags: gun buyback, hartford, Capital region, gun safety, Jacqueline Wattles, dh

The U.S. House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force held an offsite hearing in Hartford Friday where U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson and members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation said they’re still hopeful Congress will tighten the nation’s gun purchasing laws.

—More photos.

Continue reading "Field Hearing Offers Optimistic View of Future Gun Control Efforts" »

Tags: Larson, mike thompson, gun control, hartford, congress, background check

Shelton Alderman Jack Finn’s proposed weapons-free zone ordinance died Thursday following a barrage of negative comments from Republican aldermen, including one that compared gun control measures to tactics used by World War II dictators

Continue reading "Shelton Alderman Reject Weapons-Free Zone" »

The House unanimously passed a bill Tuesday designed to ensure the state can prosecute people accused of sexually assaulting a person with developmental disabilities.

Continue reading "Bill Closing Sexual Assault Loophole Clears House" »

Tags: sexual assault, loophole, developmental disabilities, fox, judiciary committee, Hugh McQuaid, dh

The state probate court administrator this summer expects to complete a database of people who have had their eligibility to own guns revoked by the courts for mental health reasons in the last 14 years.

Continue reading "Probate Court Creates Database of People Ineligible to Own Guns" »

Tags: guns, probate court, gun control, Hugh McQuaid, dh

Law enforcement officials on Friday requested more funding to deal with a backlog of paperwork related to firearm purchases and transfer-of-ownership applications that have grown exponentially since the passage of new gun regulations.

Continue reading "Lawmakers ‘Alarmed’ By Firearm Paperwork Backlogs" »

Tags: gun control, state police, background checks, gun permits, fingerprints, stebbins, bradford, dh

Jose Sanchez and other undocumented immigrants visited the state Capitol Monday to pose a late-session question for legislators: While the state awaits federal action on immigration reform, what should be done now about immigrants who are driving without licenses?

Continue reading "Mayors, Immigrants Rally For Driver’s Licenses" »

Tags: John DeStefano, CONECT, James Manship, New Haven, Juan Candaleria, Larry Cafero