I met Olivia Bravo ’20 recently and she was telling me about a project she’s involved in. I offered to help spread the word about the work she is doing. Here is what she is up to, in her own words:
“As a Middlebury student, I will be advocating in the greater Addison County area and urge members of the Vermont community to join in lobbying foundational gun violence prevention measures.
I am part of a program with the Friends Committee on National Legislation FCNL, where 20 youth will be lobbying for gun violence prevention in their respective states. From all different backgrounds, representing their individual communities, the “Advocacy Corp” members will be pushing their Congressional members for two bills; S. 42 Universal Background checks in the Senate, and H.R. 1236 Extreme Risk Protection Orders in the House of Representatives.
If you would like to get involved or share your experience with gun violence please reach out to me at obravo@middlebury.edu
What I want to emphasize to the Middlebury community is that I will have having workshops and events to teach lobbying 101 before I take any official trips to district offices in VT. This is a great opportunity for students to learn more about how they can advocate for themselves as a constituents as well as for students interested in the political realm to gain first hand experience interacting with Congressional members and their staff. I also want to make clear that I am looking at gun violence prevention as a non-partisan issue and do not represent the values of FCNL or a particular party, everyone is welcome!