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Amid concerns about family separation, let’s remember Connecticut’s children with incarcerated parents While many Americans watched in horror as family separation policies tore families apart at the border, many of us didn’t know how frequently our laws tear apart families of color here in Connecticut. When judges sentence parents to incarceration, they can unknowingly sentence children to family separation through termination of parental rights (“TPR”). After TPR, a parent has no right to care for, visit, or communicate with their child. TPR is the death penalty of family law: If t...

As redistricting process begins, Connecticut must abolish prison gerrymandering In 2021, Connecticut’s legislators will undertake the legislative redistricting process that must occur every ten years. Before they do, they have a once-in-a-decade opportunity to eliminate an unjust and discriminatory redistricting practice that has no place in our state: prison gerrymandering. “Prison gerrymandering” is a simple concept. When drawing districts, Connecticut counts the vast majority of people in their home communities. But Connecticut currently considers incarcerated people as residents of ...

Last week college sports fans in Connecticut were roiled by some startling news. The University of Hartford has been privately considering a move from NCAA Division I to Division III. Grappling with the financial implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, the University commissioned a “feasibility study” from the consulting company CarrSports. The confidential report concluded that the “current Division I-funding model is not viable and cannot achieve the goal of becoming more self-sustaining.” When it was leaked to the press, outrage ensued. Journalists and alumni proclaimed that the Uni...

For the first time in almost a year, we can see a light at the end of the tunnel of the COVID-19 pandemic. But that does not mean we are out of the tunnel yet – and these coming months will be critical for the recovery. That is why this is not the time for the Connecticut General Assembly to push the polystyrene ban (HB 6502) they seem on track toward passing. This is not only a matter of the legislature allowing themselves to get distracted by some non-urgent issue when they should be focusing on more important legislation. A polystyrene ban would actively hurt the recovery. Worse, it woul...

President Joe Biden’s redefinition of the word “bipartisan” is wise, even necessary. Measures that have majority support among regular folks throughout the country– say, universal background checks for firearms purchases– have “bipartisan” support because lots of citizens of both major parties approve: that makes sense. If not a single GOP senator or representative will vote for something that practically everybody in America wants, that’s their problem. Or, it should be. Given that legislators are there to advocate for the things their constituents want, a situation in which ...