Join the League of Women Voters of Lexington to learn about the upcoming question that will appear on the November ballot on Gun Safety Laws.  This ballot question is asking voters to support the existing gun safety laws that are on the books in Massachusetts.  The League urges a “Yes” vote on this question.

The speakers will be Ruth Zakarin, CEO of the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence and chair of Vote Yes for a Safe Massachusetts, and Jennifer Muroff, the Legislative Action Committee Chair for the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts (LWVMA).

Ruth Zakarin became the inaugural Executive Director of the Coalition in May of 2019, and prior to that spent over 20 years working with youth and adults impacted by domestic and sexual violence. Since its 2012 founding, shortly after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school, the Coalition has brought together stakeholders from across the Commonwealth to work to address all forms of gun violence. The volunteer Coalition members worked together to build a groundswell of organized grassroots energy that galvanized the State Legislature to pass the 2014 Omnibus gun safety bill, the 2018 Extreme Risk Protection Order law, and the 2024 Act Modernizing Firearms Laws, which is being challenged by the November 2026 ballot referendum.  

Beyond advocating for the passage of this important legislation, the Coalition works with legislators and public health experts to hold those in power accountable to implement these laws and to push for funding of important programs that support youth opportunity, including Summer Youth jobs programs and the Safe and Secure Youth Initiative that supports violence intervention work across the Commonwealth. Gun violence is a complex problem requiring multi-faceted solutions, so the Coalition, now with over 120 members, continues to grow and evolve to better serve the Commonwealth. Mass Action is the 501(c)(4) advocacy arm of the Coalition.

Ruth has her MSW from the University of Pennsylvania and is also trained as a community organizer. Outside of her Coalition work, Ruth is very involved in local interfaith organizing, is an avid knitter and foodie, and is the proud mom of two incredible young adults. 

Jen joined LWVMA in 2017 as the legislative specialist advocating for immigrants’ rights and gun violence prevention--for which she received a Commonwealth Heroine Award in 2019. Her advocacy work includes campaigns for Driving Families Forward, Extreme Risk Protection Order, Yes on 3 Transgender Rights Ballot Question, the Safe Communities Act, and more. She has protested peacefully for abortion rights at the US Supreme Court and against the mistreatment of migrant teens at the Homestead Detention Center in Florida. Jennifer has served as the Legislative Action Committee Chair and board member of the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence—a coalition of 100+ member organizations working to eradicate all forms of gun violence throughout the Commonwealth. Previously, Jennifer was a board member of the League of Women Voters of Needham, hosting local, state and federal officials as their Legislative Envoy. In her role, she helped incarcerated people from the Norfolk County House of Corrections vote. Jennifer was a founding member of the Temple Shalom Tzedek Social Justice Committee. She lives in Needham with her husband and two sons.

This program is the eighth in the 2025-2026 LWV First Friday Forum series hosted by the League of Women Voters to promote awareness and understanding of public policy issues. There will be time for Q&A after the program. LexMedia will record the program.  For more information about the forum or other activities of the League, go to https://my.lwv.org/massachusetts/lexington/calendar. To see previous First Friday Forums, go to Past Events in the Calendar and search for "First Friday". 

The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan organization dedicated to the principles of self-government established in the Constitution of the United States. The League works to promote political responsibility through informed and active participation of citizens in government. All League forums are free and open to the public. For more information about the League go to https://my.lwv.org/massachusetts/lexington.