Gun Control Petition in Middlefield Ends Without Vote

A petition effort calling on the town of Middlefield to end its membership with the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities over the organization's support of gun control legislation has ended.

The petition, supported through the signatures of more than 200 local residents, failed to receive the necessary support at Tuesday night's Board of Selectmen meeting where a handful of petitioners showed up as part of their ongoing effort to convince town leaders to cut ties with the municipal lobby group.

Middlefield resident Peter Brown first presented selectmen with the petition in March and claimed that CCM, a taxpayer funded group that lobbies for its member towns in a number of areas, overstepped its role by crafting 13 legislative initiatives in an effort to reduce gun violence.

The proposals were drafted in January, just a month after 20 children and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.

Last week, about two dozen residents showed up to a public hearing on the petition at the Middlefield Community Center, including CCM Executive Director Jim Finley who suggested that the organization's membership may have acted in haste by creating the proposals so soon after the tragedy but said lawmakers were ultimately responsible for the new laws.

He also urged the town to consider the many benefits CCM provides.

On Tuesday, Brown said the group had become an anti-gun lobbying group.

"No one knew then CCM's position on the second amendment before but everyone knows CCM's position now," he said.

Following Brown's latest public scrutiny of CCM, First Selectman Jon Brayshaw made a motion to discontinue membership with the organization for 12 months. But the motion was not seconded by selectman Ed Bailey, the only other selectmen in attendance at the meeting due the absence of selectman Dave Burgess.

"It seems like it's dead," said Brayshaw.

"Okay, so you made your decision. That's your prerogative," Brown replied.