Walter Hudson, the founder and chairman of the National
Awareness Alliance, a civil rights organization based in New Jersey, will meet
with State Senator Stephen M. Sweeney,
Assemblyman John Burzichelli and Assemblywoman
Celeste Riley on Monday, January 7,
2013 at 10:45 a.m. to encourage
them to support a bill sponsored by Senator
Raymond J. Lesniak (D-Union) and co-sponsored by Senator Shirley Turner (D-Hunterdon and Mercer) to declare violence
a public health crisis and establish a commission to study its causes.
The legislation comes in the wake of the tragic shooting in
Newtown, Connecticut. The bill urges the federal government to reinstate its
ban on assault weapons and expand background checks to all gun sales and
transfers.
“The time has come for us to take a stand against these
senseless acts of violence,” says Hudson of Penns Grove. “We call on all
lawmakers across the state to support this effort. This is not a Republican or
Democratic issue. This is about saving lives.”
Reverend Edward Dorn,
pastor of Second Baptist Church in Pedricktown and Salaam Ismial, founder of the New Jersey Anti-Violence Coalition
will also be in attendance.
Hudson pledged to meet with Senators Turner and Lesniak in
the upcoming weeks and will seek a meeting with Governor Chris Christie to
solicit his support for the legislation.
A press conference
will be held at 12:30 p.m. outside of Senator Sweeney’s Trenton office.
