CONECT

CONECT Fall Candidate Assembly set for Oct 22nd, four candidates now confirmed

CONECT’s Fall Candidate Assembly has now been set for Monday evening, October 22nd at 7:00pm at Congregation B’nai Israel (2710 Park Ave., Bridgeport, CT).  Candidates for Governor, Attorney General, and Treasurer have all been invited.  Ned Lamont (D for Gov), Sue Hatfield (R for AG), William Tong (D for AG) and Shawn Wooden (D for Treasurer) are all confirmed to attend.  An updated flyer in English & Spanish is available here.

CONECT Leaders Gather, Celebrate AOBC Resolution Passing

CONECT leaders and shareholders gathered in Bridgeport and Hamden at midday Tuesday to log-on and listen in to the American Outdoor Brands Corp (AOBC or Smith & Wesson) annual shareholder meeting.  Pending on the agenda of the meeting was a shareholder resolution requiring the company to report to its shareholders in 2019 on the repetitional and liability risks to the company due to its products being used in gun violence and on its efforts to develop safer products.  Similar gatherings took place in greater Chicago and in Cleveland.  The resolution, developed by our allies at the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, passed despite the vehement opposition of the company’s management and board.  CONECT, Metro IAF, and the Do Not Stand Idly Bycampaign had supported an identical shareholder resolution for Sturm Ruger, Inc. which passed at its shareholder meeting in May.  See press coverage below:

CONECT packs St. James school with 440 leaders for Candidate Assembly

On Tuesday, June 26th, 440 CONECT leaders squeezed into St. James School for our first 2018 Candidate Assembly.  Governor hopefuls David Stemerman (R), Ned Lamont (D), Tim Herbst (R), and Joe Ganim (D) all attended, responded to leaders’ stories on a mix of issues — gun violence, immigration, mental health, criminal justice reform, and CT’s lagging economy.  All four pledged to return on Oct 18th if they win their party’s August primary.  CONECT’s members pledged to return with 812 people to the Oct 18th Assembly.  Mark your calendars!  You can watch CT-N’s full coverage of the June 26th Candidate Assembly at this link.

NSSF Attacks CONECT & Do Not Stand Idly By — We Respond!

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (lobby group for the gun industry) attacked CONECT and our Do Not Stand Idly By campaign on gun violence with our sister Metro IAF organizations in an op-ed piece in the Feb 20th CT Post — less than one week after the tragic shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. Our rebuttal was published one week later on Feb 27th. Read their attack here and our rebuttal here.

CONECT welcomes 3 new members in 2018!

In early 2018, CONECT welcomed three new member congregations:

The Unitarian Society of New Haven (Hamden)
Congregation Beth El (Norwalk)
Greenfield Hill Congregational Church (Fairfield)
We are excited to welcome these institutions to CONECT and look forward to doing good and important work together in the coming year.