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BobbyBuzz008 t1_jcj1vpy wrote

There is a strong drinking culture in the Connecticut House of Representatives and it has been a problem for many years.

For instance, I personally attended a state party fundraiser a few years back where there was members of the house who were blackout drunk and yet still drove home. The former Mayor of Hartford at the direction of the former Governor even ordered the Hartford police chief to move a DUI checkpoint away from the party fundraiser to avoid any embarrassment.

Let’s be honest, this isn’t a political issue. This is a public safety issue. And I am angry about it. While the vast majority of our Representatives are responsible and are professional and would never do anything to put other people’s lives in danger, there are around 15 members of the General Assembly - primarily from the House and from both political parties (as well as some legislative staffers) - who need to be called out and held to a higher standard. It isn’t just Representative Comey. She by far isn’t the first one to drive while under the influence. She just got caught.

I’ve seen so many instances of legislators getting drunk even in the mornings at the Capitol, to legislators and staffers getting hammered at the end of session even to the point of taking off their clothes and throwing hoops from the forth floor balcony onto the Nathan Hale statue in drunken celebration. And back in 2020 when several members were caught drinking in the middle of session and when Rep Comey was drunk on the House floor, the Speakers of the House refused to do anything but issue a stern warning not to drink on the job. There were no consequences. And the message that everyone received at the Capitol was drinking is acceptable and we can do whatever we want as there won't be any consequences.

There is a huge drinking culture at the Capitol. It is extremely problematic. Some people have even left their jobs because they felt unsafe. Some were sexually harassed and assaulted while employed. I personally have never witnessed a drinking culture so intense and that includes my time in college.

There is no other workplace where you can show up to your job drunk and keep your job. There is no other workplace where you can drink on the job and not face any consequences. Let's be honest: Speaker Ritter failed in his job by refusing to uphold the laws of our state and apply them equally to people in positions of power. Speaker Ritter refused to hold multiple legislators accountable for their behavior and for their failure to follow the law and there should be an independent inquiry to investigate the behavioral misconduct by both representatives and senators - not just for the substance abuse issues but in matters including sexual harassment issues as well - in order to ensure a safe working environment for all legislators, all staffers, and all members of the public.

I like Representative Comey and she is a good legislator. But she needs to resign and seek professional help. She could have been killed. She could have killed others. It is nothing sort of a miracle that no one was seriously hurt. I had a very close friend who was killed by a drunk driver and I hate to see anyone else get hurt.

This is not a one time incident but an on going issue spanning decades and a issue that is getting significantly worse. There needs to be an independent investigation into the drinking culture as well as the sexual misconduct issues at the Capitol and people need to be held accountable. Legislators and legislative staffers who are found as a result of a investigation to have engaged in unlawful or improper conduct need to resign. Also, there needs to be a thorough examination on why there was a failure to follow state laws and legislative rules at the seat of government. And finally, there should also be a independent task force should make recommendations as to any legal safeguards that should be implemented in order to prevent more people from getting hurt or worse.

Edit: grammar

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adambrinkart t1_jcku4se wrote

I feel like we just have a strong drinking culture in general in the US.

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[deleted] t1_jcmmp8x wrote

Alcohol should be banned at the capital. They absolutely should not be drinking while working, and if they want to celebrate after work , there's no shortage of places that serve alcohol. We can't have people whose judgements is impaired by alcohol writing laws and regulations. These people were also playing drinking games during the sandy hook gun law hearings. This has been going on too long.

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B6304T4 t1_jck2c4q wrote

Talk about rules for thee but not for me... These are the losers that ruined road beers for the rest of us.

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wallonien t1_jcks6mh wrote

I don’t see the harm in ONE road soda if you haven’t been drinking.

Edit: maybe 2 if it’s a long drive and you space em out

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B6304T4 t1_jcl3joz wrote

There's nothing like cracking a cold one on a road trip. The limit to drive is 0.08, why not let me sip and operate well under that margin.

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madnessdanz t1_jclv0j1 wrote

Tell me you're an alcoholic without telling me you're an alcoholic

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wallonien t1_jclzin6 wrote

One beer behind the wheel = alcoholic. This website never disappoints

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madnessdanz t1_jcm0jif wrote

Says the person who can't go a car ride without a road soda. Smh

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wallonien t1_jcm1arc wrote

Average redditor making wild assumptions based on one sentence.

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GoOnNoMeatNoPudding t1_jckda2j wrote

Yeah and these guys are worried about stoned drivers lmfao

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Delicious_Score_551 t1_jckg8di wrote

Guess they have a valid reason for being worried. It's so common around them.

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GoOnNoMeatNoPudding t1_jckkcoy wrote

Just curious have you ever seen a roll over crash get posted because someone was high on weed? To the best of my knowledge I have never seen an article about someone rolling over while driving because they smoked some grass.

Plenty of drunk drivers though

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Mascbro26 t1_jckokno wrote

I had to take drug/alcohol classes after a DUI. Out of the 20 or so people in the class 7 of them were DUI for weed. 6 of them caused an accident/crashed their car. Driving high is still driving impaired.

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haikusbot t1_jckdb2o wrote

Yeah and these guys are

Worried about stoned drivers

Lmfao

- GoOnNoMeatNoPudding

^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^Learn more about me.

^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")

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th3matad0r t1_jcjlyhh wrote

The sad part is she won't be convinced or really have any consequences from this just like every high up politician or rich person. The laws were created for the poor and middle class to not rise up

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dfeld1989 t1_jckhtg3 wrote

Watching that YouTube clip of her drunk on the legislative floor is crazy. How the hell did someone like this get elected?

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lublinj2 t1_jcik7ad wrote

Can't trust the govt as if that's news...

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Ok_Repair_92 t1_jckat9e wrote

GOA, CCDL should just buy reps who are against 2A drinks all the time and weed them out this way.

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chefmtm t1_jckohyz wrote

Unless I missed it in article, not that it matters, what time?

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OneHedgefundAtaTime t1_jcmcvfi wrote

So why is congress allowed to maintain their jobs after DUI’s but state reps aren’t?

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RetLeoSECT t1_jcmfy4p wrote

Don't drink and drive.

Don't do field sobriety checks.

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Pancrat t1_jcjcmq9 wrote

She’s cute I forgive her.

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[deleted] t1_jcij7xt wrote

[deleted]

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mkt853 t1_jcijj2d wrote

What does party affiliation have to do with it?

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mhhkb t1_jcil3nw wrote

Well, when you have nearly a supermajority in the House, odds are when someone says "Connecticut state rep," it's going to be a Democrat.

If you lost fewer elections, maybe you'd get more headlines. . .

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Nyrfan2017 t1_jciklse wrote

I love when people mention the party. Oh yes cause both parties are just filled with angels that care about the citizens

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HappyLittleRadishes t1_jcjlpzx wrote

Democrats will hold them accountable.

Republicans would elevate and protect them.

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[deleted] t1_jckf0oh wrote

This isn't her first drunken incident. Her party needs to get her some help before she hurts herself or someone else.

A DUI arrest is an automatic loss of license, who's going to drive her to hartford for the next few months?

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Prudent-Ball2698 t1_jcka4id wrote

Really cause this has been going on for decades and we've been a blue state for decades, so no the probably won't hold anyone accountable and like all politicians, they sweep it under the rug

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thekingofsecrets t1_jcklv7o wrote

The same democrats who did nothing when they were found to be drunk on the job while the legislature was in session? You realize the state rep who was pulled over is a Democrat right?

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gatogrande t1_jckpwmn wrote

Dems gave her a pass already for being drunk on the floor couple yrs ago

1