As Muslim youth leaders were lobbying elected officials on “Young Leaders Capitol Hill Day" for gun violence prevention, the U.S. Capitol complex was locked down after D.C. police chased a car with a passenger firing a “mini machine gun” at officers. No one was hurt and three suspects were apprehended.
After the Orlando massacre, the Young Leaders Institute had organized the day of lobbying on July 12, 2016 to advocate for gun control and to ask Senators and Congressmen to introduce a bill that will ban the sale of assault weapons in the U.S. Since the Orlando massacre, there have been at least 125 more deaths due to senseless gun shootings in the U.S., with more than 269 gun violence injuries.
“It was an amazing day,” said Nadia Hassan, Director of the Young Leaders Institute (YLI). ”[During the lockdown] I was petrified- we in the hall in the Russell Senate building. I heard a loud sound, which sounded like a gunshot.” Hassan heard the second shot and the sirens. They were pulled into the Senator Mark Warner’s office by his staff and were asked to move away from the door and windows. “I was in disbelief. Is this possible? We [were] advocating against gun violence and were experiencing it at the same time. With parents calling her to pick up their children, Hassan said she was scared because of the responsibility of the kids with her.
“Gun violence has become the new norm in American culture, whether it’s perpetrated by barbaric civilians with assault weapons or by bad, racist cops. We need to limit the fatalities and the casualties on the street. The only way to make America safer is to take the assault weapons out of the hands of civilians,” added Hassan in a statement.
Huma Chowdhury, a junior at Al Huda School, started her internship at YLI in May after attending a young leaders training. She and Iman (another intern) kept a close eye on the news via Twitter after the Orlando shooting. “The shooting happened while we were interning. We saw the [Sen. Murphy] filibuster on the Senate floor and wondered why nothing was happening,” said Chowdhury. Sen. Murphy’s 15 hour series of speeches resulted in an agreement that a vote would be held on whether to ban people on the government's terrorist watch list from obtaining gun licenses and whether to expand background checks to gun shows and internet sales.
“Maybe we can do something,” said the two young leaders and they decided to lobby their elected officials on these two bills. The seven YLI interns implemented the idea to lobby Capitol Hill for gun violence prevention.
Normally high school students do not get this kind of experience. With Hassan’s help, it took several weeks of back and forth with Congressional staffers to set up appointments. “It takes a lot to confirm these meetings and we had 11 confirmed appointments,” stated Hassan.
“When I hear an idea they have, I take it seriously- a lot of my training is about listening to what their interests are. YLI gives them the space where they can create their own reality and materialize their interests. This Capitol Hill Day is a product of that training,” said Hassan.
The Young Leaders met with one Congressman and other staffers. Congressman Andre Carson welcomed the students into his office. In the morning, they met with the House Representatives from Maryland and Virginia. Most were Democrats. “We only met with one Republican—Andy Harris of Maryland,” shared Hassan, who wishes they had met more Republicans as the Democrats they met were already in support of the bill. “The Democrats we visited were very much in favor for supporting these two bills, however, the Republicans danced and skirted around the issue, with many excuses. We have a lot more work to do with our Republican friends.”
The YLI is planning on reaching out to more Republicans in office.
Hassan said that the young leaders asked very meaningful questions. “I thought they did an awesome job,” she said.
Thirty students—ranging in age from 12 to 25— mostly from Maryland and Virginia and two from Texas and Georgia experienced lobbying for the first time. “It was a great experience,” said Chowdhury. “Having those discussions with the staffers was so valuable. Nothing happens fast but just being there gives me hope that something will hopefully change. Knowing that someone is actually going to do something about it.” Most of the stories that were shared by the young leaders were stories of police brutality, racism and prejudice. A lot of students raised these issues, which are directly related to the gun violence issue.
A conference call with the participants gave them some preliminary information before their meetings. Jameel Johnson of the Prince George’s County Muslim Council gave the students a Capitol Hill 101 talk to introduce them to the process.
Right before the lockdown, Chowdhury heard gunshots and big bangs— the huge wooden doors in the Senate building were slamming. “It was just such a coincidence. It was surreal,” said Chowdhury.
Attendee Dua’a Tafesh, also a junior at Al Huda School, said the lockdown was frightening. “It was the first time…I have experienced [gun violence] and I was so close to that incident- I [feel] more strongly about the issue,” she said.
ICNA's Council for Social Justice and Prince George's County Muslim Council sponsored the event and trip to Capitol Hill.
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