Press Release: Students Across the Commonwealth Plan Town Halls

Students across the Commonwealth plan

Town Hall for Our Lives events on Saturday, April 7th

Boston, MA– Inspired by the high school students in Parkland, Florida, students across the Commonwealth are planning town halls with elected officials on Saturday, April 7, as part of the Town Hall for Our Lives nationwide effort. All events are open to the public and press. The Massachusetts students are supported by March for Our Lives Boston and partnered with Stop Handgun Violence.

“We may not be old enough to vote; we are certainly old enough to voice our opinions,” said District 3 and 6 student organizer and Charlotte Lowell of Andover High School. “This movement will continue at the Town Hall for Our Lives, where we will to learn and mobilize to create the change our classrooms and communities deserve.”

“On average, 96 Americans are killed a day by guns. Seven of those are children. Those people deserve better. They deserve a country that cares about them more than the ‘right’ to own weapons of war,” said District 7 and 8 student organizer Vikiana Petit-Homme of Boston Latin Academy “We must fight for every life that is lost senselessly to guns; we must fight for the communities of color that lose a member almost daily due to guns, but are routinely ignored in their pleas for help.”

The Town Halls will include participation by both federal and state legislators and city councilpersons, including: US Representatives Katherine Clark, Stephen F. Lynch, Jim McGovern and Mike Capuano; State Senators Brownsberger, Hinds, L’Italien, Moore, Spilka; State Representatives Connolly, Durant, Ehrlich, Farley-Bouvier, Finn, Higgins, Lewis, Linsky, Matias, Michlewitz, Ryan, Stanley; Boston City Council members Pressley, and Essaibi George; and a digital contribution from Congressman Moulton.

“Across the state, students are creating these opportunities to ask representatives questions and be a part of the movement to end gun violence,” said student organizer Maddy Art of Mount Greylock Regional High School. “Town halls are vital to active democracy and a great way to get involved!”

“I was in the 4th grade when the Sandy Hook shooting happened. I was in the 9th grade when Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting happened. Since I heard about Sandy Hook, I have had a fear that this will happen to me or my little sisters. They are 8 and 13. I am tired of being afraid,” said District 2 student organizer Jaylin Gemmel of Nipmuc Regional. “The adults that are leading this country have shown that they are not going to change. It’s time to show them that it is the only option.”

“I’ve been in this movement for over 20 years and I love the energy and determination the youth of the Country and Commonwealth are bringing to this effort,” said John Rosenthal, founder of Stop Handgun Violence. “Like other student movements, including the fight for civil rights and an end to the war in Vietnam, a passionate student movement to end preventable gun violence is exactly what is needed to hold elected officials accountable and change state and national gun laws. We are proud to support their events and we hope that together we will save lives and create lasting change.”

All events held April 7th:

For more on the Town Hall For Our Lives national event, visit the TownHallProject.com

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Stop Handgun Violence(SHV) is a Massachusetts based non-profit organization committed to the prevention of gun violence through education, public awareness, effective law enforcement and common sense gun laws. SHV has been the lead advocate in Massachusetts for enactment of the most effective gun violence prevention laws and first in the nation consumer protection regulations. The organization does not seek to restrict Constitutional rights, but advocates only for common sense legislation that will help save lives. For more information, go to www.stophandgunviolence.org