Giffords Releases List of Ten Gun Safety Town Halls to Watch This Weekend

 Across the nation, Town Halls for Our Lives are being held to hold politicians accountable on gun violence prevention 

Washington, DC – Giffords, the gun safety organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Captain Mark Kelly, released a list of the ten gun safety town halls to watch this weekend. Across the nation, students have organized Town Halls for Our Lives and invited local elected officials and individuals running for office to show up and explain whether or not they support gun safety legislation. Since the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas in February, young Americans have continued to press Congress to take action to prevent gun violence.

“Led by young Americans, voters in communities across the country are expressing outrage about the fact that our leaders keep failing to address the gun violence crisis. We have raised our voices, marched in the streets, and are poised to hold politicians accountable for their inaction this November,” said Peter Ambler, Giffords Executive Director. “We join with students who have organized these town halls in saying that if you serve in Congress, the days when you could quietly back the gun lobby’s dangerous policies are no more. Voters are demanding action and they’re demanding answers. This weekend, we’ll see voters ask politicians why they continue to prioritize gun lobby contributions over protecting public safety. These town halls are a reminder to elected officials that their seat is only secure with the backing of their constituents, and if they can’t support gun safety bills than we will see a change in leadership come November.”

In order to provide town hall attendees information on their lawmaker’s relationship with the gun lobby and their voting record on gun violence issues in Congress, Giffords created a  Town Hall Cheat Sheet . To learn if your elected official is hosting a town hall this weekend, check the upcoming events listed on the  Town Hall Project ’s website.

Giffords is also releasing a list of the top ten town halls to watch and why they are important:

1. Steve Knight – CA-25.  ** Town Hall Scheduled:    Sat, Apr 7, 2018 at 6:30 PM, PDT   Even though the majority of his voters supported Proposition 63, a package of gun safety measures passed at the ballot by California voters in 2016, Rep. Knight has consistently sided with the gun lobby. Just last year, he voted for Concealed Carry Reciprocity which drastically undermines California’s strong gun laws and makes it easier for dangerous people to carry concealed, loaded guns in public. Students in his district are demanding a conversation on gun safety, but he has yet to respond to their invitation.
2. Mike Coffman – CO-06  ** Town Hall Scheduled:    Sat, Apr 7 2018 at 6:00 PM, MDT   Despite the 2012 Aurora movie theater shooting in his district and the 1999 Columbine tragedy, Rep. Coffman has consistently sided with gun lobby and opposed common sense gun laws that would better protect his constituents. At a packed town hall in February of this year, Rep. Coffman faced an onslaught of questions from constituents asking him why he had failed to act on gun violence despite the state’s history and the recent tragedies in other districts. Until he takes action, Rep. Coffman owes it to his constituents to continue the conversation about gun safety.
3. Jason Lewis – MN-02.  ** Town Hall Scheduled:    Sat, Apr 7 2018 at 12:00 PM, CDT   Rep. Lewis has consistently sided with the gun lobby, despite Minnesotans’ broad support for safer gun laws like background checks on all gun sales. He has been called out by his constituents for failing to have the courage to face them and have a conversation about how they would like him to vote when it comes to their safety.
4. Erik Paulsen – MN-03.  ** Town Hall Scheduled:    Sat, Apr 7 2018 at 1:00, CDT   While Rep. Paulsen has acknowledged there are “gaps that need to be addressed,” he has failed to co-sponsor legislation would strengthen our nation’s gun laws, like background checks, and has voted in lockstep with the gun lobby. Paulsen is increasingly out of touch with his voters on the issue of gun safety, who have criticized him for failing to hold in-person town hall meetings. 
5. Ted Budd – NC-13.  ** Town Hall Scheduled:    Sat, Apr 7 2018 at 2:00 PM, EDT   Rep. Budd held a closed-door roundtable discussion with school officials to discuss school safety, but his proposed solutions do not include strengthening our nation’s gun laws. His constituents deserve a conversation about why he refuses to support common sense measures like background checks on all gun sales, which are supported by the vast majority of Tar Heel voters.
6. Rodney Frelinghuysen – NJ-11.  ** Town Hall Scheduled:    Sat, Apr 7 2018 at 4:00 PM, EDT   Rep. Frelinghuysen may have chosen not to run for re-election rather than face gun safety champion Mikie Sherrill, but his work for his constituents is not over until January of 2019. Following the Morristown March for Our Lives, which was attended by 13,000 people, student leaders in New Jersey’s 11th District are demanding action from their elected leaders to make their communities safer from gun violence.
7. Lee Zeldin – NY-01.  ** Town Hall Scheduled:    Sat, Apr 7 2018 at 12:00 PM, EDT   Rep. Zeldin has claimed to support some safer gun laws, and said it’s important to have a conversation about gun safety and “solve the issue on common ground.” Rep. Zeldin’s constituents are demanding a forum for that conversation so that they can ask why he has failed to co-sponsor a single piece of legislation that would strengthen our gun laws, and why he has backed the gun lobby’s dangerous agenda and accepted their campaign contributions.
8. Claudia Tenney – NY-22.  ** Town Hall Scheduled:    Sat, Apr 7 2018 at 1:30 PM, EDT   After more than 2,000 people attended the Binghamton March for Our Lives, students in Rep. Tenney’s district are demanding leaders with the courage to stand up to the gun lobby. Rep. Tenney has not yet held a town hall over her first term in office, and students are saying she owes them a conversation about their safety.
9. Barbara Comstock – VA-10 ** Town Hall Scheduled:   Sat, Apr 7 2018 at 12:30 PM, EDT   Precincts across Virginia’s 10th District  delivered a win  to gun safety champion Ralph Northam on Election Day in 2017, a resounding defeat for the gun lobby in their own backyard. Gun safety was a  top issue  in the gubernatorial race, and Barbara Comstock can expect it to be a top issue in her race in 2018. Rep. Comstock has faced severe criticism from constituents due to the fact that she has never held a public town hall since her election in 2014.
10. Paul Ryan – WI-01. **  Town Hall Scheduled:  Sat, Apr 7, 2018 at 10:00 AM, CDT  The US House has not voted on a bill that would strengthen our nation’s gun laws since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, and since 2015, it’s thanks to Paul Ryan. Despite pressure to take up gun safety measures following the shootings in Orlando, Las Vegas, Sutherland Springs and now Parkland, Paul Ryan has failed the American people and refused to allow even one vote. A group of Wisconsin students recently  marched 50 miles from Madison to Janesville to rally for safer gun laws in Speaker Ryan’s hometown. Speaker Ryan has  faced criticism  for not holding a town hall in his district since before he was elected Speaker in 2015.

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  Giffords   is a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives from gun violence. Led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, Navy combat veteran and retired NASA astronaut Captain Mark Kelly, Giffords inspires the courage of people from all walks of life to make America safer.