Jr Newtown Action Alliance (Jr NAA) hosted a roundtable discussion on gun violence prevention with Governor Ned Lamont and Senator Richard Blumenthal on Friday, June 5.

Around two dozen people gathered in C.H. Booth Library's meeting room for the student-led roundtable, where 11 local students sat with Lamont and Blumenthal and asked them questions they prepared in advance.

Some of the people who attended the event and watched the roundtable included First Selectman Bruce Walczak and the Democratic candidate for the 106th District state representative seat up for election later this year, Michelle Embree Ku.

The panel was moderated by Newtown Action Alliance Co-Founder and Chairwoman Po Murray, who said the group is very proud to have been working and advocating for cultural and legislative changes since its launch shortly after 12/14.

"And we're mostly proud of making sure that our students at Newtown High School had an opportunity to engage in the process to create the change that's necessary, to keep us safe here in Connecticut and beyond," Murray said.

The day of the roundtable happened to be especially important, as it was 12th anniversary of National Gun Violence Awareness Day. Murray said they gathered not only to remember the lives stolen by gun violence, but also to honor the people who have transformed grief into action.

Murray said the meeting room where they were holding the roundtable discussion was important, as it was that very room, two days after the Sandy Hook tragedy, where they held their first community meeting to organize. It was out of that community meeting that NAA was born, along with Sandy Hook Promise.

She added that Newtown residents know all too well the devastating consequences of gun violence. The students at the roundtable, Murray added, have grown up in the shadow of the Sandy Hook tragedy, having to practice lockdown drills, watch shootings on their phones, and grow up in a time when gun violence has become the leading cause of death for American children and teens.

At the same time, Murray said they have grown up witnessing the power of advocacy, watching survivors, families, students, and community leaders come together and pass life-saving laws with the help of people like Lamont, challenging powerful interests and making Connecticut a national leader for gun violence prevention.

"They understand that progress does not happen by accident; it happens when people organize, speak out, and elect leaders who have the courage to stand up for public safety," she added.

On that note, Murray turned the discussion over to the students of Jr NAA, and they all took turns introducing themselves and explaining why they joined the group.

The students participating in the roundtable discussion included Cali Taylor, Michayl Wilford, Lahja Kurjiaka, Amelia Bossio-Dotolo, Reese Kenny, Morgan Kenny, Sophie Rosecrans, Skylar Urbina, Rebecca Goldman, Kaitlyn Soh, and Joshua Chokbergboune. Three other Jr NAA students, Sofia Talluto, Aitor Suarez, and Ellie Lemieux, attended the meeting, but did not participate in the roundtable.

Some students shared that they knew someone who was killed in the tragedy; some noted that they have carried the pain of that day with them over a decade later; others said they believe it is time for a change and that the more people advocate for it, the faster that change will come.

Lamont shared his own experience talking to family members of victims from gun violence, and that he has seen firsthand what it does to a family and a community.

He believes that the change needed to combat gun violence is happening, maybe starting right here with groups such as Newtown Action Alliance. Lamont said, coming out of the tragedy, gun safety laws were very bipartisan, with people on both sides of the aisle working together.

"It's getting a lot more complicated now, but your voice makes an enormous difference," Lamont told the Jr NAA students. "Your voice going up to the state legislature ... or to Washington D.C., young people going up to their congressmen, their senator, saying, 'Look what's going on in Connecticut, it makes a difference,' matters."

Blumenthal said he was incredibly impressed and inspired by the faces and voices of NAA that have come of age in the past few years.

"It is just so striking for me, and it reminds me that you created a movement. It isn't just an isolated series of acts or advocacy, it is a movement of separate organizations inspired by tremendously effective advocates," Blumenthal said.

He added that, when he drives through Newtown, he remembers the hard days of winter shortly after the tragedy, when people wondered how they were going to make it.

However, since then, Blumenthal said Connecticut has really led the way with gun violence prevention, due in large part to figures like Lamont and the advocates who stand up to the prominent state and national pressures.

Student Questions

Bossio-Dotolo asked Lamont what they think is the next big step Connecticut should take to keep reducing gun violence and saving lives.

Lamont said the technology keeps changing, and they have to keep up with it. He shared that he did not know what ghost guns, or homemade firearms, were, but then all of a sudden people started manufacturing their own guns at home.

"We try and stop them at the border, but as you know, we're a small state surrounded by other states, so anything I can do in a regional or national basis makes a difference," Lamont continued. "It's the same thing with the little trigger device in glocks — didn't exist maybe five years ago."

In turn, he said they have to make their laws "very current" because people who will try to avoid laws are using innovation and technology every day.

He also said he cares a lot about red flag laws, where if someone sees something, they say something.

"Reach out," Lamont said. "We can't do everything at the gun shop to prevent it. I think you talking to your folks and friends can make an enormous difference as well."

Rosecrans asked if Lamont would support creating dedicated state funding for gun safe distribution and gun buyback programs so these efforts can reach more Connecticut families.

Lamont said he certainly thinks the gun safe distribution makes "all the sense in the world."

He added, "Keeping those weapons in a safe storage would save lives every day."

As for gun buyback, Lamont said he would be happy to talk more about that, and make sure people are not losing the money they had to buy some modern gun.

"I want to make sure these are things that make a real difference, not just symbolic, but I think the answer is yes," Lamont explained.

Wilford said many of them have grown up participating in lockdown drills and active shooter drills, and Connecticut has recently adopted trauma informed standards for school crisis response drills. She asked why it was important to address the mental health impact of these drills, and how they can keep students safe without creating additional trauma.

Lamont said the mental health aspects have a ripple effect just like their advocacy. As such, he said they have to pay special attention to that.

"You have to get the right balance between lockdown drills, and maybe scare some people, but also do everything you can to keep people safe," Lamont said.

He added that they have paid special attention to make sure Connecticut schools are much safer than they were 15 years ago, limit the number of ways people can get in and out of school, be able to shut it down, and so on. At the same time, Lamont said he does not want kids to "lose the joy of [their] youth."

"I want to make sure that you know that you live in one of the safest states in the country, and you've been scarred by a terrible tragedy, but every day, I want you not just to be safe, but to feel safe," Lamont explained.

Taylor told Blumenthal that President Donald Trump has reversed much of the progress former President Joe Biden had made, especially considering gun violence prevention efforts. She asked him, assuming that a majority elected into Congress were in favor of gun violence prevention, how they would be able to push forward and pass legislation despite the challenges Trump poses.

Blumenthal said he is hopeful they will see change this November.

He added, "A lot can happen in five months, so it will take real work to make sure we do have that change. Obviously, gun violence is not going to be the only issue. People are concerned about the cost of living, gasoline, groceries — everything. That's what a lot of people see front and center, but we need to raise [gun violence prevention] as an issue and put it on the ballot."

If they are successful, Blumenthal said he thinks they will see Congress continue the effort and movement towards reform. He reminded people there has been steady progress at the state level, even more than at the federal level.

He added that many people tend to focus on the House of Representatives and the Senate, but that there are real opportunities for state legislators and governors to put this issue on the ballot.

"I think if we can change the leadership of Congress, it will put such pressure on Donald Trump that he will have to reestablish the Office of Gun Safety, that he will have to adopt funding for the community violence intervention programs, he will have to provide money for school counseling," Blumenthal explained.

Kenny asked Blumenthal what advice he has for young people who would like to speak up for what they believe in, but are too nervous take that first step.

Blumenthal, speaking to the members of Jr NAA, said they should "follow your example." He continued by saying every time he attends a rally in Newtown, and sees that the brothers, sisters, and friends of those tragic victims are now leaders in this effort, he feels inspired.

Blumenthal echoed a point from Lamont: the faces and voices of young people are the most powerful moving forces "for us in D.C."

"In the wake of Sandy Hook ... the Newtown families just working through their pain, it was so moving to watch them talk to my colleagues," Blumenthal said. "I'll never forget watching one of them to talk Joe Manchin, [a former] senator from West Virginia. Big rough guy. And he was moved to tears."

He added that they have authenticity that others do not have.

"So just be yourself is my best advice. Be yourself, talk from your heart, from your gut, from what you believe, and don't give up on your conviction," Blumenthal said.

The roundtable was followed by a National Gun Violence Awareness Day Rally and March, held outside the former police station on 3 Main Street. Lamont and Blumenthal spoke at the rally, along with Walczak, Embree Ku, Sandy Hook survivor and NAA member Matt Holden, Malini Parikh of CAGV Youth Council, and Amy Taylor and Robin Walker of Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence.

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Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.