FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CAMPAIGN TO KEEP GUNS OFF CAMPUS

SPRING BENEFIT TONIGHT AT THE CUTTING ROOM IN NYC

 

(New York, NY) –  University faculty leaders from Georgia, the League of Women Voters of Florida and members of the national law firm Covington & Burling will be honored tonight by The Campaign to Keep Guns off Campus. The honors will be awarded during the organization’s Spring benefit to be held at The Cutting Room in Manhattan from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

University professors Dr. Michael Noll and Dr. Magdalena Zurawski both played key roles in marshaling student and faculty opposition at their respective schools, Valdosta State University and University of Georgia, leading to the Governor’s veto of guns on campus legislation in Georgia in 2016.  Both professors are also heavily involved in a similar fight in the state happening right now.

The League of Women Voters of Florida is a leading voice for gun violence prevention in the Sunshine State.  The Campaign has worked in coalition with The League (and others) for the last three years in our shared mission to preserve safe campus communities.  After the Pulse Nightclub shooting last year in Orlando, The League formed the Florida Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence with The Campaign as one of the early co-founders.  This coalition now includes over 100 diverse organizations working on pro-active and defensive legislation. The Campaign is honored to be working in coalition with The League and many other groups in Florida.

The law firm of Covington & Burling serves as pro bono counsel to The Campaign to Keep Guns off Campus’ Legal Action Project, which works on affirmative and defensive litigation in public spaces beyond college campuses.  The campaign honors three individuals for their important work involving airport security matters. By honoring Mr. Jonathan Wakely, Mr. Alec Webley, and former Congressman Howard Berman, The Campaign seeks to acknowledge the critical counsel that these attorneys have provided to the Campaign’s efforts to tackle laws that permit guns in airports. These efforts are a vital outgrowth of the Campaign’s work to tackle “Guns Everywhere” laws, which have brought firearms to the most sensitive places in our society.

“Tonight we pay tribute to individuals and organizations working with us to keep campus communities and other public spaces safe and gun free,” says Andy Pelosi, the Campaign’s cofounder and executive director, “Everyday it is becoming more and more challenging to stave off the fear and misinformation perpetrated by the gun lobby, which depicts our educational communities as not safe and pushes to allow guns into these closed campuses. We reject this notion and call on parents of college age students and others to join in this fight for safe campus communities.”

Tonight’s Honorees:

Higher Education Leaders

  • Michael G. Noll, PhD., Professor of Geography, Valdosta State University, Valdosta, GA
  • Magdalena Zurawski, PhD., Asst. Professor of English & Creative Writing, University of Georgia, Athens, GA

Organization Honoree

  • League of Women Voters of Florida
    Gloria Pickar, accepting

The Legal Community – Our Pro Bono Partner

  • Covington & Burling LLP
    Alec Webley, Esq., accepting
    Hon. Howard Berman
    Jonathan Wakely, Esq.

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ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN TO KEEP GUNS OFF CAMPUS

The Campaign to Keep Guns off Campus was founded in 2008 to urge colleges and universities to band together to oppose the gun lobby’s agenda to push loaded, concealed guns onto college campuses. To date, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and more than 420 colleges and universities in 42 states have joined the Campaign. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Contact:

Andy Pelosi, Executive Director,  [email protected]  (914-629-6726)