In a string of tweets October 23 between Second District Representative and candidate Dan Carter and Heather Whaley of Redding, Mr Carter found himself in the bad graces of Newtown Action Alliance (NAA) and other gun violence prevention advocates in Connecticut.

The string of Twitter interactions between Mr Carter and numerous others appears to have begun with Ms Whaley posting a video of an October 2012 forum at the Redding Community Center. The tweet urges followers to “listen to @DanCarterCT say we should bring the @NRA into schools.”

(NRA is the National Rifle Association.)

Mr Carter responded to Ms Whaley’s posting with, “It was a bad idea. Just thought a focus on safety would be good. I didn’t realize how badly the NRA would be vilified.”

It was not that tweet that has insulted NAA volunteers, said NAA chairman Po Murray, but the subsequent one, seeming to agree with Ms Whaley that the NRA had vilified itself, but adding, “Both sides are against reasonable solutions, so they are all accountable for gun deaths — NRA, NAA, CAGV [Connecticut Against Gun Violence].”

Ms Murray said in a phone conversation with The Newtown Bee on October 28 that she was made aware of the Twitter conversation by Ms Whaley, a friend.

Mr Carter represents a small section of Newtown, in addition to Bethel, Danbury, and Redding.

“Obviously, members of NAA live [in that section of Newtown he represents],” said Ms Murray. “Numerous members are offended by his remarks. It is illogical,” she said, to suggest that NAA or CAGV could be accountable for gun deaths. “We [NAA] were created after 12/14,” she said.

Ms Murray also responded to Mr Carter’s comment in a letter to The Newtown Bee, spelling out differences between NAA, whose goal is “to reduce the number of gun deaths and injuries” and the NRA “a heavily funded gun lobby that fights any and all common sense legislation.” The October 28 letter quotes statistics from The Violence Policy Center, said Ms Murray, indicating how the April 2013 Connecticut gun safety legislation supported by NAA and CAGV has “helped to make Connecticut a safer place to raise our children.” Mr Carter voted against that particular legislation.

Although she did not watch the two-year-old video, Ms Murray said that NAA does not believe the NRA should be in schools.

“We know historically what NRA has done [in school programs], marketing firearms to children. I don’t trust the NRA or Dan Carter suggesting we should put NRA in our schools,” she said.

A public apology “like he did with what offended us originally” should be offered by Mr Carter to NAA volunteers, Ms Murray suggested.

Mr Carter defended his perceived insult to NAA in a phone conversation and e-mail to The Newtown Bee. He stressed that the video Ms Whaley posted was two years old, and “at the time, we had pretty good laws on the books.” Then, before the events of 12/14, it seemed a possibility to take advantage of publications from the NRA, he said.

“I think we’ve all come a long way since 12/14. My views have a different perspective now,” he said.

“That was dumb,” admitted Mr Carter, referring to the tweet that has offended NAA and other gun violence prevention activists.

“I didn’t mean literally ‘blood on their hands.’ Both sides have entrenched themselves so much, the debate [during consideration of the 2013 legislation] was not open. It was all about banning guns. It felt like it was a political outcome,” he said. His feelings that neither side made an attempt then or since to come to a middle ground on gun violence prevention, or to address aspects of the law that he feels would truly create a safer environment, led to his voting against the 2013 bill, Mr Carter said.

Because he feels it is important to revisit “mistakes made in the first bill,” Mr Carter wants to put in gun safety legislation next session, should he win reelection, addressing gun trafficking, storage requirements, and other issues left off the table in 2013.

“We should work together. I didn’t mean to malign anybody. If we don’t come together, we are missing the chance to save lives,” he said, adding later in the conversation, “I’m asking for common sense, because of the polarization of the two sides.

“I certainly had no intention of maligning [NAA] or any volunteers. The people on both sides of this issue are good people. The interpretation based on a tweet is wrong. I feel badly [the NAA] took it that way,” Mr Carter said.

“I feel bad that we are dragging the gun issue to another level again,” he said of the Twitter conversation. “I don’t think the people of Newtown want another gun debate. That’s the impression I get,” he said. “If more people would be willing to listen to all sides and work together, instead of just staking out positions, we could make a lot of progress in reducing on gun violence in our state.”