In the Wake of Sandy Hook: Forum on Mental Health and Gun Control

The Newton Ward 6 Democratic Committee of Newton and the Mayor’s Crime Prevention Commission invite you to a Conversation on Gun Control and Mental Health.

State Representative Ruth Balser

Ruth is a clinical psychologist who has used this background extensively to shape public policy.  She is an expert in how environment and opportunity shape an individual’s perceptions, and how those perceptions in turn shape that individual’s life. 

Alderman Greg Schwartz

Greg Schwartz is both a doctor and a lawyer. He is a primary care physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and a health policy analyst as well.  He will use both sets of skills for this discussion.

State Senator Cindy Creem

Cynthia Creem is a lawyer and the State Senator from Newton where she is on the Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse.  As a long term Senator, she has a profound knowledge of the history of gun control in Massachusetts and the mental health involved.

Rabbi Barbara Penzner

Barbara Penzner has been a rabbi at Temple Hillel B’nai Torah in West Roxbury since 1995.  She is an activist rabbi, working on many causes associated with social justice.  As a result, she received the Human Rights Hero Award in 2011 from Rabbis for Human Rights North America.  She is also President of the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis.