To The Editor:

The Old Lyme Board of Finance is expected to vote this Tuesday, March 28, on the Town’s capital budget, and money requested by the Town Police for weapons and ammunition. Initially budgeted for $32,500, this was modified by First Selectman Tim Griswold to $28,500.

The Old Lyme [OL] Board of Selectmen [BOS] has never taken a vote on approving or recommending this, and the discussion was tabled at their Feb. 24 meeting to seek input from Trooper Matt Weber to gain clarity on this topic. To my knowledge, this has not happened, and it is unclear if it is ever going to happen. The agenda for the [OL BOS] Special Meeting on Monday lists this only in generic terms, “[Discussion of …] Recommendations to the Board of Finance”.

The budget request includes purchase of military style assault rifles, weapons of mass destruction designed to kill as many people as possible, as quickly as possible. All this raises concerns for the militarization of our constabulary /police.

We are a contracted State Trooper town, and expend thousands for their trained officers and their military assault rifles to support us. Also this unsupported request leaves the Town open to significant costs associated with updating these weapons and safely disposing of retired weapons.

We, the people of OL, have not received any comprehensive explanation of the reason for and benefits of using our tax dollars to purchase weapons of mass destruction. Indeed, many residents probably do not know this is even being considered. If these purchases are being justified as protective for our school children, there is zero evidence for this. Also, can anyone remember a time in recent history that police with assault weapons were able to stop a shooter with an assault weapon? My research says no — [see this article]“He has a battle rifle”: Police feared Uvalde gunman’s AR-15

I would like to refer readers to the following LymeLine Op-Eds, as well as Letters to the Editor and reader comments, for background :

Peter Ewart 6/1/22 and Tom Soboleski 5/27/ 2022 (Op-Eds)
Betsy Groth 6/17/22 and 7/26/22 and Charlotte Scot 9/22//22 (Letters)

Sincerely,

Betsy Groth,
Old Lyme.

Editor’s Note: The author is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and Child Advocate, a Retired Lecturer at Yale School of Nursing, and a Member of CT Against Gun Violence.