Ryan plans town hall on gun violence
The event hosted by one of the Democrats seeking to challenge John Faso will take place Tuesday at the Kingston Library
KINGSTON, N.Y. » Pat Ryan, one of seven Democrats seeking the party’s nomination to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. John Faso in the fall, will host a town hall event Tuesday on preventing gun violence.
“As a combat veteran and son of a public school teacher, gun violence prevention is deeply personal to me,” Ryan said in a press release Wednesday. “I’ve been outspoken on this issue and recently published an opinion piece advocating for a comprehensive set of common-sense solutions to our nation’s gun violence problem.”
The Town Hall event will run from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the second-floor community room of the Kingston Library, 55 Franklin St. A five-member panel will participate, including Common Council Majority Leader Reynolds ScottChildress, DWard 3, and Juan Figueroa, a retired state trooper who plans to challenge Ulster County Sheriff Paul VanBlarcum for the Democratic nomination for sheriff in the Nov. 6 election.
Ryan, who lives in Gardiner, said the community is ready for a change and needs its leaders to stand up.
“I’m bringing together a diverse panel of students, educators, members of law enforcement, public officials, and inviting all community members to share their perspectives,” Ryan said. “Our hope is to form a co-
alition of concerned citizens dedicated to addressing gun violence.”
Ryan said he has also invited Faso to attend.
“After the horrific attack in Parkland, Florida, just a few weeks ago and the nationwide March for Our lives last weekend, the students of Parkland and the Town Hall Project have called for community events in every congressional district across the nation,” Ryan said. “Rep. Faso says that he cares about preventing gun violence, yet we haven’t heard of any plans from him to hold a town hall.”
Faso’s spokesman, Joe Gierut, responded in an email Thursday, stating, “Given that we initially learned about this through the press, Mr. Ryan’s efforts appear to be geared more toward political gain rather than developing real solutions.
“John Faso agrees that ensuring the safety of our children and educators is critically important and he voted to increase funding for school safety grants, improve mental health programs, and strengthen the background check system,” Gierut added. “Additionally, he has met with school officials, law enforcement, and other stakeholders to continue developing solutions to the problems we face.”
Besides Ryan, the other candidates seeking the Democratic Party nomination to challenge Faso in the Nov. 6 election for New York’s 19th Congressional District are: Jeffrey Beals of Woodstock, David Clegg of Woodstock, Erin Collier of Cooperstown, Antonio Delgado of Rhinebeck, Brian Flynn of Elka Park and Gareth Rhodes of Kerhonkson.
A Democratic primary is scheduled for June 26. The winner will run against Faso, a first-term congressman from Kinderhook.
The 19th District comprises all of Ulster, Greene, Columbia, Sullivan, Delaware, Schoharie and Otsego counties; most of Dutchess County; parts of Rensselaer and Montgomery counties; and a small section of Broome County.
Rhodes on Thursday said he, too, plans a public town hall meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, April 7, at the Lucky Dog Farm Store in Hamden, Delaware County.
“I was proud to join students and thousands of other New Yorkers at the March for Our Lives to help bring an end to senseless gun violence,” Rhodes said in a press release. “This epidemic has no place in our schools, our movie theaters, or our places of worship, and our children deserve more than just our thoughts and prayers.” He said he grew up with responsible gun owners and believes in common-sense reforms.
Rhodes also invited Faso and his constituents to join the Hamden town hall event.
Ryan has said he supports banning assault weapons and instituting universal background checks. He said he supports banning bump stocks and high-capacity magazines, as well as preventing straw purchases and closing gun-show loopholes.
Beals said he supports repealing the laws shielding gun manufacturers from legal responsibility for what he called the damage they are doing and in banning the sale of AR-15s, which he said are a “weapon of war.” He said he also supports universal background checks.
“We can solve this terrible epidemic of gun violence, but we don’t because our Congress and John Faso offer no solutions,” Beals said.
Clegg said in addition to getting AR-15s off the streets and passing universal background checks, it is crucial that laws are changed so gun manufacturers “no longer receive immunity from being sued for their refusal to create their product with safe technology.”
Collier said the country needs common-sense gun safety reform, but should not demonize responsible gun owners. She said she supports universal background checks, mandatory waiting periods, banning bump stocks and closing the Charleston loophole and gun show loopholes. And, like Ryan, she said she supports repealing the Dickey amendment, which has effectively prohibited the U.S. Centers for Disease Control from doing research on gun violence since it was enacted in 1996.
Delgado said he too supports banning bump stocks and keeping “weapons of war like the AR-15” off the street, but also in prohibiting the sale of guns to domestic abusers. He said the country can respect the rights of responsible gun owners and make sensible solutions to gun violence at the same time.
Flynn said the country cannot let special interests stand in the way of commonsense gun reforms. He, too, said “weapons of war” should be taken off the streets and out of the hands of civilians. Flynn also said the country needs to make sure that “people who shouldn’t access guns, can’t.” He said the special liability loophole for gun manufacturers should be closed and the Dickey amendment should be repealed. On top of that, people need to have access to quality and affordable mental healthcare, Flynn said.