vp04.04.13

GUN CONTROL from page 17
summary of the landmark Heller v.
D.C. Supreme Court case.
According to a press release
on the forum, more than 60 people
signed up to speak, including residents
of Avon, Barkhamsted, Canton,
Colebrook, Granby, Hartland,
New Hartford, Simsbury and Torrington.
A heated debate
Like they had done at a similar
hearing in February in Simsbury,
hosted by Rep. John
Hampton, speaker after speaker
rose to the podium bemoaning the
idea of tightening the reins on gun
owners.
Speakers insisted not only that
gun control was contrary to the
Second Amendment, but also that
it would not stop gun violence.
Many suggested looking at ways to
deal with mental health problems.
“We have to do something
about the broken mental health
program,” said a speaker whose
first name was Steve. “ere’s a
win, win here if we go after gun violence
and mental health and not
gun control.”
More than one speaker said it
was criminals who committed violence,
not law-abiding citizens who
happen to own guns and that it
was those law abiders who would
be most adversely affected by more
laws. e criminals, they repeatedly
pointed out, would get guns
whether they were legal or not.
“We can’t legislate away evil,”
said one speaker.
Steve Wallace said there was
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22 The Valley Press April 4, 2013
no truth to theories that the silent
majority favor gun control.
“Any open meeting that I’ve
gone to has been 90 percent in
favor of no gun control and 10 percent
want gun control,” he said. “I
think that this silent majority that
we keep hearing about is a vocal
minority.”
Another speaker spoke to the
idea that high-powered guns belong
only in the hands of cops.
Everyday folks face the same perils
that police do, he said, explaining
that in facing such danger, people
may call police, but they are also
forced to deal with the issue while
they wait for those reinforcements
to arrive.
“It’s the same threats. ey
don’t encounter different bad guys
than we do,” he said. “If somebody
[threatening] comes in [my house],
I’m going to be shooting as much
as I can in the direction of that
threat.”
Jane Miller from Simsbury, a
single mother of two boys, said she
got her pistol permit after the winter
storm in 2011. e continued
attempts toward the demise of the
constitutional right to bear arms
needs to stop, she said.
“I’m here for my children. I
want to keep them from immediate
harm,” she said. “e Second
Amendment says the right of the
people to bear arms shall not be
encroached.”
Searching for middle
ground
Mark Warren of Simsbury was
the only speaker who spoke in favor
of stricter gun control while this re-
CLASS VISIT WEEK APRIL 8-11
porter was at the hearing. Warren
said he agreed with proposals to
ban high-powered assault weapons
and that he was in favor of background
checks. He also spoke at
the hearing in February in Simsbury,
saying he had once been held
hostage during an armed robbery.
“I don’t think that an outright
ban on firearms is necessary or the
right thing to do,” he said in Simsbury.
“ere has to be some middle
ground.”
Witkos, for his part, quietly listened
to the comments, answering
questions and clarifying information
as needed.
On occasion, he asked speakers
questions. He asked Miller if she
would support measures to restrict
people with mental health issues
from getting guns for a certain period
of time.
“Define mental health issues,”
was Miller’s curt response, to which
the senator replied people who
have been involuntarily committed
for reasons that they may harm
themselves or others.
It was unclear if Miller responded
directly to the question.
“I feel like I can’t even say the
word gun without getting arrested,”
she said, and reminded the audience
about a child who was recently
suspended for biting a pop
tart in the shape of a gun.
“Children can’t play cops and
robbers anymore,” Miller said.
“What’s happening to this country?”
“roughout the evening, I
was impressed by the remarkable
turnout of concerned citizens to
discuss this important topic,”
Witkos said at the end of the hearing.
“I would like to thank everyone
who traveled near or far to attend
the forum and those who shared
your valuable thoughts about the
current legislative gun proposals.”
On Feb. 28, Town Manager
Bill Smith notified the police of the
complaints and stated that “he,
personally, doesn’t like seeing the
piles,” the report reads.
Case said in the report and
told e Valley Press that the February
blizzard set him back and
that he spread the piles on March
1 at 9 p.m. when he was able to get
the necessary equipment to the
site. He was issued a fine for $219,
which he said he is contesting.
“e reason for this violation
was because of the manure being
dumped on the highway right of
way,” the report explains. “Case
stated he had permission from the
landowner to place the manure
there to fertilize the maple trees.”
Town Planner Fran Armentano
explained that the state owns
approximately 27 feet between the
pavement edge and the property
line, “so, the manure piles were
clearly dumped on state property,”
he said, noting the piles were
within a foot of the road.
Case argued this justification
is confusing and said that based on
his research of the Farm Bureau
and Connecticut farming laws, he
does not think he has done anything
wrong.
“e people who put the complaint
in have absolutely no concept
as to what I was doing and
why I was doing it,” he said. “As a
farmer, you do things when the
weather is right. e weather was
right to put the manure there. It
was cold and it was open winter.
en, the day after is when we got
the 30 inches of snow. [e police]
told me if I didn’t spread the manure
in a week, I was going to get a
ticket.”
e report states, “Case stated
he felt it was a waste of time for the
police to involve themselves in
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DUMPING from page 17 “e people who put the
complaint in have
absolutely no concept as
to what I was doing and
why I was doing it. As a
farmer, you do things
when the weather is
right. e weather was
right to put the manure
there. ... en, the day
after is when we got the
30 inches of snow. [e
police] told me if I didn’t
spread the manure in a
week, I was going to get
a ticket.”
-Arlow Case
what he felt was an agricultural
process. Case felt the police did
not understand what manure was
being used for.”
Armentano told e Valley
Press that Granby has a strong reputation
for being pro-farming,
partly due to the appointment of
an Agricultural Commission,
which was set up in support of the
farms in town.
“We have very open zoning
regulations that support farming,”
he said. “ose regulations have
been copied by many communities
because they encourage farming
and support farming.”
Case was charged with a 22a-
250(a), which states “no person
shall throw, scatter, spill or place or
cause to be blown, scattered,
spilled, thrown or placed, or otherwise
dispose of any litter upon
any public property in the state,
upon any public land in the state
… highway, road, street.”
Case is contesting the fine
using the Right to Farm Act, which
states that farming and agricultural
operation is not deemed a
nuisance.
“is is something that’s kind
of bothered me all throughout my
life,” he said, citing instances where
new people who move to town
complain about farming operations.
“But, I kind of let it go. I just
want to live and be left alone and
try to come up with new and creative
ways to improve my way of
living so I can currently function
with the cost of fuel, cost of taxes
and cost of living.”
He said the one nice thing to
come out of the situation for him
is that he has had some great conversations
with really good people
who he would not have otherwise
met.
After Sweet Wind Farm expressed
its concern through its
blog and Facebook page in March,
e Valley Press received e-mails
from residents expressing concerns.
One resident, Heather Monty,
said she wonders “exactly what direction
this small farm town is taking.”