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CT anti-gun violence advocates denounce shuttering of White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention

Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewcz speaks at a gathering of CT organizations and leaders at the state capitol to speak out against Trump's planned closure of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
Abigail Brone
/
CT Public
Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewcz speaks at a gathering of CT organizations and leaders at the state capitol to speak out against Trump's planned closure of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the plug on a federal office designed to curb gun violence is receiving stiff criticism from state lawmakers and advocates.

The White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, formed in 2023, was effectively eliminated days after Trump took office. The website now displays an error message.

The office’s closure is going against policies proven effective, according to Jacquelyn Santiago Nazario, Chief Executive Officer of Compass Youth Program, a nonprofit with the goal of ending violence in Hartford.

“Decreasing funding to violence prevention agencies is defunding public safety efforts that actually work and have been proven to work over time,” Santiago Nazario said.

Santiago Nazario was among other anti-gun violence advocates who gathered at the state capitol Wednesday morning to denounce the office’s closure.

State democratic lawmakers and advocates say Connecticut’s gun laws have been working, with gun related deaths dropping 37% last year, according to Connecticut Against Gun Violence.

Less than a month into 2025, the U.S. already had nearly 1,000 homicides caused by firearms. There were at least 20 mass shootings and more than 750 people were injured by gun violence, according to Giffords Law Center.

Despite Connecticut’s strong gun safety laws, there are more than 220 deaths caused by gun violence each year, according to Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz. More than half of the state’s firearm deaths are suicide, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewcz said.

While speaking at the State Capitol Wednesday, Bysiewicz expressed the closure of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention was a dangerous move by the president.

“Removing the first ever federal office to help coordinate federal gun violence prevention efforts will further limit our ability to keep our communities safe,” Bysiewcz said.

Connecticut relies heavily on the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention for resources and information on how other states are handling the gun violence epidemic, Bysiewcz said.

However, the Office of Firearm Injury Prevention, within Connecticut’s Department of Public Health, will not be impacted by any funding cuts associated with the office’s closure, according to Firearm Injury Prevention office manager Colleen Violette.

Abigail is Connecticut Public's housing reporter, covering statewide housing developments and issues, with an emphasis on Fairfield County communities. She received her master's from Columbia University in 2020 and graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2019. Abigail previously covered statewide transportation and the city of Norwalk for Hearst Connecticut Media. She loves all things Disney and cats.