On May 2, U.S. Congressman Joe Courtney (D) visited Daniel Hand High School (DHHS) for a town hall gathering to speak with students and community members about gun violence legislation.

Approximately 50 people, including students from DHHS as well as Guilford, Westbrook, and other districts gathered to listen to Courtney and ask questions. Courtney discussed the challenges he has seen in trying to bring in what he called sensible gun reform in the state and across the nation, but said this time might be different.

“We need to have a strong, steady, consistent push on this issue if we are going to see common sense gun violence measures passed,” he said. “We know the American public supports this in overwhelming numbers.”

Students asked questions about the process and progress of legislation in Washington. Courtney said part of the problem is that among those who favor gun reform, other issues like health care tend to take top priority, but for people who are opposed to gun reform, opposing it is their “first, second, and third priority.”

“The thing that I think is so different about the time we are living in since the Parkland High School shooting is we really see that intensity starting to move up the depth chart in terms of the fact that people have decided this is something that is really now a decisive issue in terms of voting behavior and political activism,” he said.

Some in the room asked about how the Second Amendment comes into play when discussing gun reform. While some argue even discussing gun legislation reform violates the rights enshrined in the Second Amendment, Courtney said he doesn’t think it is that black and white.

“There is a reasonable zone that the Constitution allows for things that...really are within the parameters of legal restrictions that do not violate the Second Amendment,” he said.