Common Ground Committee Hosts Senator Chris Murphy and Former Congressman Will Hurd for a Discussion on Guns
Conversation addressing solutions for the ongoing problem of gun violence will be the nonprofit’s first in-person event since 2020
Wilton, CT, September 7, 2022 – Common Ground Committee (CGC), a nonpartisan, citizen-led nonprofit dedicated to reducing polarization, announced today their upcoming free event on the politics of guns. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) will be joined by Will Hurd, former U.S. Representative (R-TX), CIA officer and author of American Reboot: An Idealist’s Guide to Getting Big Things Done, for a discussion moderated by former CBS News Correspondent and author Jacqueline Adams. The conversation, about how to address the important questions of gun legislation and gun rights, will be held at the Jack Morton Auditorium at George Washington University on September 27, from 6:30 pm to 8 pm ET. Tickets can be reserved here.
Both these individuals are important voices in this debate. Chris Murphy became a leader in the effort to control gun violence when, as a U.S. Representative, his district faced the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Ten years later, in the wake of the mass shooting on May 24 in Uvalde, Texas, now Senator Murphy led the effort to write and pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act — the first major federal gun legislation enacted since 1994. When Will Hurd was serving in the House, his district included Uvalde. While getting an “A” from the National Rifle Association, he has aggressively spoken out about the need to find solutions to gun violence while preserving the rights of law-abiding gun owners. As the 2022 midterms approach, guns remain an ”extremely important” issue on the ballot.
“Regardless of what one might believe is the right policy, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act proved that common ground can be found even on a divisive issue such as guns,” said Bruce Bond, Co-Founder and CEO of CGC. “As has been the case with all of our events we believe Americans who attend this one will leave inspired and hopeful that further progress can be made on this serious issue.”
This will mark CGC’s first in-person event since February, 2020, a discussion on the media with Chris Wallace and Maggie Haberman, and is presented in partnership with the BridgeUSA’s GW chapter and the Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service.
Sen. Murphy and former Congressman Hurd will be available for interviews following the event. For interview requests, please contact Zach Halper at zhalper@momentum-cg.com or 862-224-3233
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About Common Ground Committee
Common Ground Committee (CGC) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) citizen-led organization dedicated to bringing healing to the national challenges of polarization and incivility. Since its founding in 2009, CGC has held 17 public forums featuring panelists who have reached over 250 points of consensus. Panelists have included such notable pairings as John Kerry and Condoleezza Rice, David Petraeus and Susan Rice, Michael Steele and Donna Brazile, Chris Wallace and Maggie Haberman, and Larry Kudlow and Barney Frank, exploring issues ranging from race and income inequality to foreign policy. CGC produces the “Let’s Find Common Ground” podcast series, which has had over 175 thousand downloads and more than 60 thousand subscribers. CGC also created the Common Ground Scorecard, a voting tool that scores politicians and candidates for public office on their likelihood to find common ground with the opposite party. Free of political agenda and financial influence, CGC has a singular focus on bringing light, not heat, to public discourse.
About BridgeUSA
BridgeUSA is a youth-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that creates spaces on high school and college campuses for open discussion between students about political issues. It began in 2016 at the universities of Notre Dame, CU-Boulder, and UC Berkeley in response to growing polarization on campus. BridgeUSA’s work emphasizes the importance of empathy and understanding, ideological diversity and solution-oriented politics. By engaging America’s youth in constructive discussions, BridgeUSA are equipping the next generation of leaders with the skills necessary for navigating conflict, finding solutions across differences and building bridges in their communities. BridgeUSA is currently located on over 50 college campuses and 24 high school campuses in the U.S.
About Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service
The mission of the Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service is to integrate civic engagement into George Washington University’s educational work. The center promotes equity and active citizenship in a diverse democracy, focuses GW’s resources to address community needs through reciprocal partnerships beyond the campus, and enhances teaching, learning, and scholarship at GW.
