Students invite Congressman Lance to a town hall on April 20th, to discuss the issue of gun violence and give constituents the ability to voice their concerns about legislation he has supported.

NEW PROVIDENCE, New Jersey — (April 20th, 2018) — A group of student activists from New Jersey’s 7th congressional district have launched an initiative to host a town hall on the topic of gun safety. However, current district Representative Leonard Lance, who is up for reelection this year, has not confirmed his availability, despite numerous phone calls and email requests.

Meanwhile, the students have already confirmed the presence of candidates Tom Malinowski, Goutam U. Jois, and Peter Jacobs who are challenging Rep. Lance for his seat in Congress during the upcoming 2018 midterm election.

This effort is part of a nationwide program called Town Hall for Our Lives. The program was started as a collaboration between Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg and the nationwide grassroots organization Town Hall Project. Throughout April’s congressional  recess, elected officials across the nation will be holding town halls. At these events, constituents will be able to voice their concerns about the issue of gun safety, as well as their support or disapproval of actions their Congressmen have taken on the issue so far. 104 town halls have already been registered. Congressman Lance has not announced that he will host a town hall of his own.

As constituents of Congressional District 7, we feel that it is within our right to demand Congressman Lance host a town hall. Congressman Lance has voted both for and against gun safety legislation in the past. However, he holds a 93% approval rating from the NRA, which does more to represent his stance than any other actions he has taken so far.

By taking money from the NRA and refusing to express a firm viewpoint on the issue of gun safety, Congressman Lance has failed his constituents. He has failed to address the concerns of students such as ourselves, who live with a daily dread that their school will be the next shooting in a long and bloodied line of America tragedies. He has failed to address the concerns of parents, who send their children to school wondering if they will return to home alive at the end of the day. He has failed all his constituents, who have real concerns regarding the effects of gun violence on their own lives. Our concerns are real, and they deserve to be addressed.

Congressman Lance was elected to represent us, the constituents of Congressional District 7. If he refuses to meet us face to face to listen to our concerns, he will have failed us. We will no longer tolerate inaction from our elected officials. If he continues to refuse to listen to us and chooses not to attend our town hall, we will vote him out of office this November.

Congressman Lance, we extend an invitation you to attend our town hall on April 20th. We do not have a set venue and time yet, but as soon as that is determined, we will release the information. We urge you to come and to listen to the concerns your constituents have regarding gun violence, and your views on the issue. Please contact us at [email protected]. Thank you, and we look forward to hearing from you soon.

Contact: Gabriella Pickton

   908-376-8509

   [email protected]

   @njyouth07 at Twitter.com