Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-Mineola, joined Malverne Police Chief John Aresta other anti-violence activists from Long Island at Hofstra University last week for a forum on how to reduce gun violence.
“If the voters don’t speak out and let their elected officials know that they’ll hold them accountable on this issue, then nothing will happen,” Rep. McCarthy said. “That’s how we’ll get change in our country – from the voices of the grassroots on up.”
The forum was organized by the local chapter of Pax Christi, a global Catholic peace movement with more than 400 local chapters across the United States.
Other attendees on the speaker’s panel included Long Island Railroad shooting widow and head of the Long Island chapter of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence Joyce Gorycki, community activist and Director of Adelphi University's Undergraduate Social Work Program Sergio Argueta, and Sister Jeanne Clark, founder of HOMECOMING, a community supported agricultural and educational project.
Aresta is the nephew of Gorycki and attended this year’s State of the Union Address as McCarthy’s guest as part of a movement to call attention to gun violence during the national event.
The event was hosted by the Hofstra University Center for Civic Engagement and was organized by Uniondale residents Martin and Margaret Melkonian, among others.
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