Lawmaker seeking to raise NJ age for rifle buyers to speak at Team 26 rally, Morristown, May 5

Andrew Zwicker
Andrew Zwicker
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Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker (D-16th Dist.), co-sponsor of a bill to raise New Jersey’s legal age to buy rifles and shotguns to 21, has been confirmed as a speaker at Saturday’s Team 26 rally in Morristown.

Team 26 cyclists are welcomed to Morristown for the fourth time in 2016. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Team 26 cyclists are welcomed to Morristown for the fourth time in 2016. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Team 26 cyclists will stop at town hall around 5 pm on May 5, 2018, pausing on their annual 400-mile ride from Newtown CT to Washington DC to lobby for stricter gun controls.

The team name refers to the 20 children and 6 teachers shot to death at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown in December 2012.

Student organizers of the Morristown March for Our Lives, March 24, 2018. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Lexie Stephens, center, with fellow student organizers of the Morristown March for Our Lives, March 24, 2018. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

The bikers will be welcomed by Mayor Tim Dougherty and Rector Cynthia Black of the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer.

Zwicker and Assembly co-sponsor Roy Freiman (D-16th Dist.) introduced bill A-3815 to bring the state’s minimum age for purchasing rifles and shotguns in line with the age 21 limit for buying handguns. 

Presently, licensed dealers can sell rifles and shotguns to youths as young as 18.

Other scheduled speakers include:

  • Monte Frank, founder and captain of Team 26
  • Tiffany Starr, gun violence survivor from New Jersey
  • Sixteen-year-old Bloomfield High School Junior Benjamin Douglas, riding with Team 26 for the second year
  • Morristown High School Junior, Alexandra “Lexie” Stephens, a student organizer of the Morristown March for Our Lives, who will speak before her Junior Prom
  • Randolph High School senior Caitlyn Dempsey, also an organizer of the March for Our Lives.
Benjamin Douglas of Team 26 and Bloomfield H.S. speaks at Morristown March for Our Lives, March 24, 2018. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Benjamin Douglas of Team 26 and Bloomfield H.S. speaks at Morristown March for Our Lives, March 24, 2018. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Team 26 will resume its ride from Morristown town hall on Sunday, May 6, at 8 a.m., accompanied by local cyclists behind a police escort.

 

“I am excited that Team 26 will be making a stop in Morristown again and that we have the opportunity to support these riders, especially those from New Jersey, in their efforts to raise awareness about gun violence,” Dougherty said in a statement.

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America also is supporting the rally. The organization requests that anyone planning to attend RSVP here, for crowd size estimation.

Additional details are here.

MORRISTOWN GREEN COVERAGE OF TEAM 26

sandy hook to morristown ride flyer 2018

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