Dozens of angry protesters greeted Chris Christie in Greenwich, Connecticut Monday, where the New Jersey governor and presumed 2016 hopeful attended a fundraiser for the state’s Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley.
Demonstrators lined the street outside the private home where the fundraiser was held, furious over Christie’s decision to veto a gun control bill in his state earlier this month which would have banned magazines with more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
Related: What happened to Chris Christie the moderate?
One high schooler held a sign reading “Sandy Hook demands action.” New York Times reporter Michael Barbaro tweeted a photo of a little girl holding a sign that showed the faces of the 20 elementary school students who were killed in the Newtown massacre and read, “My friends lives were not trivial.”
Gun control advocates and gun violence victims protesting Christie in Greenwich, CT tonight. http://t.co/fbE1STevJd pic.twitter.com/vutvOmQvb2
— Michael Barbaro (@mikiebarb) July 21, 2014Another tweet from Barbaro shows the longer line of protesters snaking down the side of the street.
The line of protestors outside a Christie-Foley fundraiser in Greenwich CT tonight. pic.twitter.com/OIkOEV2Fg5
— Michael Barbaro (@mikiebarb) July 22, 2014At the time he vetoed the bill, Gov. Christie said, “Mass violence will not end by changing the number of bullets loaded into a gun.” His veto message continued, “I will not support such a trivial approach to the sanctity of human life, because this is not governing.”
The national debate about gun rights is at a standstill as shooting rampages continue across the country. Congress failed to pass a bipartisan background checks bill last year, just months after the December 2012 massacre inside Sandy Hook Elementary School. Some states have passed new reform measures that tighten gun restrictions, while others have enacted laws that weaken regulations.
The governor’s administration, meanwhile, is under federal and state investigation over allegations that some of Christie’s staffers and allies closed lanes on the George Washington Bridge back in September, seemingly for political retribution. Christie has denied any prior knowledge of the plot.
Monday’s fundraiser is just one of several stops Christie made in Connecticut on behalf of Tom Foley’s campaign. Despite the controversies surrounding the George Washington Bridge closure and his veto of gun control legislation, Christie has remained a powerful fundraiser for the Republican Governors’ Association. Under his tenure, the organization has pulled in $60 million according to the Associated Press.
Christie’s trip to Iowa last week — where the Republican governor campaigned for the likes of House Speaker Kraig Paulsen and Gov. Terry Branstad — generated buzz that he’s considering a 2016 run. Christie maintains the trip has nothing to do with 2016 and that he’s merely fundraising for candidates in the 2014 midterm elections.
Additional reporting by Michele Richinick and Aliyah Frumin.
