The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
ANSWERING QUESTIONS
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand holds town hall with Hamilton College students
CLINTON, N.Y. >> U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand sat down with Hamilton College students Monday for a town hall meeting, answering their questions and discussing the issues close to them.
Gillibrand, D-NY, said she’s always excited to be among students because of the number of issues that students are leading the debate on.
“Across the country, students are walking out and marching for our lives,” Gillibrand said. “They are making sure we take on the gun lobby and NRA, to ensure that guns stay out of the hands of those who can do great harm. We have young people who are marching for our global health and climate change, making sure we have people in Congress who represent our values and take on these challenges head-on.”
Gillibrand said young people, like those in the audience of around 70, should stand up and demand better from their peers, communities, and leaders to shut down hate, division, racial violence and more.
Among the topics on students’ minds were gun laws and what actions could be done to get more politicians to listen to students rather than gun lobbies.
Gillibrand said young students, like Emma Gonzalez, who continue to “march for our lives” are powerful and urged all students to get out there and march to let their voices be heard. As a high school senior Gonzalez survived the February 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida.
“I don’t think there should be people in our state who don’t stand up to the NRA for the right reasons and try to have common sense gun reform,” Gillibrand said. On what could be done, the senator said she has been working on legislation to end federal gun trafficking.
“In New York state, 90 percent of the guns used in crimes come from out of state,” she said. “Andmost of them are illegal.”
Gillibrand said legislation ending federal gun trafficking, universal background checks and a ban on large magazines and military-style assault weapons are needed for an America where people are not afraid to go to a Walmart, a concert or a movie.
One of the ways Gillibrand said this can be done is to get money out of politics, adding she’d like to see New York become the first where politics is publicly funded.
Gillibrand used Seattle as an example, where the Democracy Voucher Program offers Seattle residents a chance to support candidates with four $25 vouchers that they can use to donate. At the same time, other campaign reforms were put into place to limit contributions from lobbyists and contractors.
“It would transform politics overnight. It has in Seattle,” Gillibrand said. “It’s made the people participate more diverse. More women, more young people, more minorities, more low-income people and the outcomes are different. And that’s what we want.”
On the subject of local politics, Arielle Saber, president of the Hamilton College Democrats, asked the senator if she could speak on the value of local elections and the importance of voting, especially for college students.
“It’s vital, and there’s a lot of efforts around the country to deny students their right to vote on their col
“Across the country, students are walking out and marching for our lives. They are making sure we take on the gun lobby and NRA, to ensure that guns stay out of the hands of thosewho can do great harm.”
— U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
lege campuses,” Gillibrand said. “The governor of New Hampshire passed legislation, telling young students they couldn’t register to vote if they didn’t have their driver’s license and drivers registration on campus, which a lot of students don’t have. This creates a massive barrier for students to be heard.”
Gillibrand said she hoped everyone knows how important their vote is and how important it is to be heard.
“Your vote alone can change the outcome of an election, especially a local election, where the margin might be a few hundred votes,” Gillibrand said. “Our democracy relies on the fact that people come forward to vote.”
Gillibrand said she wants to focus on voter rights and has comprehensive legislation with Congressman John Lewis, D-GA, to ensure everyone gets their right to vote.
The senator added the country needs to stand against the disenfranchisement of voters and protect against voter election interference — such as Russia.
“I’m working on all those issues because our right to vote is the most important right that sets this country apart from all the world,” Gillibrand said. “We should realize how important it is and how precious it is not to waste it.”