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"We've Got to Work Our Will"
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![[LBJ Future Forum] Building a Movement: Gun Control in America](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/s7vkIPoetiM/mqdefault.jpg "[LBJ Future Forum] Building a Movement: Gun Control in America
On October 22, 1968, President Johnson signed the Gun Control Act into law— banning mail order sales of rifles and shotguns and prohibiting most felons, drug users, and people found mentally incompetent from buying guns. At the signing President Johnson stated:
“Congress adopted most of our recommendations. But this bill—as big as this bill is—still falls short, because we just could not get the Congress to carry out the requests we made of them. I asked for the national registration of all guns and the licensing of those who carry those guns. For the fact of life is that there are over 160 million guns in this country—more firearms than families.
If guns are to be kept out of the hands of the criminal, out of the hands of the insane, and out of the hands of the irresponsible, then we just must have licensing. If the criminal with a gun is to be tracked down quickly, then we must have registration in this country. The voices that blocked these safeguards were not the voices of an aroused nation. They were the voices of a powerful lobby, a gun lobby, that has prevailed for the moment in an election year.”
Fifty-six years later, President Johnson’s words still ring true.
On October 22, 2024, LBJ Future Forum hosted a conversation about social activism, democracy, and movement building, focusing on the work that is being done now by younger generations on the issue of gun violence prevention. Topics of discussion included the changes we have seen in America since Lyndon Johnson signed the Gun Control Act, how we embrace diversity of thought and find common goals, and how we engage younger voters in the political process.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson offered welcome remarks.
Speakers:
Amber Goodwin, Founder of Community Justice and Travis County Assistant District Attorney
David Hogg, Co-founder of March for Our Lives
Kimberly Mata-Rubio, Mother of Lexi Rubio, killed in the Robb Elementary shooting
Moderator: Alexandra Samuels, Senior Editor at Texas Monthly")
![[LBJ Future Forum] Missions to Moon & Mars: A Conversation with Director Wyche, Johnson Space Center](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sczsgLJsECY/mqdefault.jpg "[LBJ Future Forum] Missions to Moon & Mars: A Conversation with Director Wyche, Johnson Space Center
Join us for a special opportunity to hear from Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche. Johnson Space Center, which opened 60 years ago as the Manned Spacecraft Center and later renamed for Lyndon Johnson, is NASA’s center for human space flight and home to the U.S. astronaut corps and Mission Control. Gwen Griffin, CEO of the Griffin Communications Group and Chair of the Texas Space Commission Board of Directors, moderated the conversation.
About the Speakers:
Vanessa E. Wyche is the director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, home to America’s astronaut corps, Mission Control Center, International Space Station, Orion, and Gateway programs and its more than 11,000 employees. She is responsible for overseeing a broad range of human spaceflight activities, including development and operation of human spacecraft, commercialization of low-Earth orbit and Johnson’s role in exploring the Moon and Mars.
Wyche previously served as deputy director at Johnson and has held numerous program and institutional leadership positions, including flight manager of several missions of the retired Space Shuttle Program. A strong supporter of diversity and inclusion, Wyche advocates mentoring at all levels and is a passionate promoter of science, technology, engineering, and math. She’s received numerous awards and honors, including the Presidential Rank Award and an honorary doctoral degree from Coastal Carolina University. She is an AIAA Associate Fellow and International Women’s Forum Fellow. Wyche was recently elected to the National Academy of Engineering, one of the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. A native of South Carolina, Wyche earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and Master of Science in Bioengineering from Clemson University.
Gwen Griffin is the chief executive officer of the Griffin Communications Group. She is the executive director of Club for the Future, 2024 chair of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, and chair of the Dean’s Advisory Council for the College of Sciences at the University of Central Florida. Additionally, she is a member of the Space Center Houston Board of Directors, Conrad Foundation Advisory Board, and trustee of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. Griffin received a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Central Florida.")
![[LBJ Future Forum] Who is Austin For? A Conversation on Growth, Class and Affordability](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tPuAter74bQ/mqdefault.jpg "[LBJ Future Forum] Who is Austin For? A Conversation on Growth, Class and Affordability
Austin is the fastest growing major metro era in the country, but the rapid rate of growth has created a crisis of housing and affordability that threatens to push out the people who drive the Austin economy. So it brings to question - who is Austin for?
Panelists:
Nora Linares-Moeller, Executive Director, HousingWorks Austin
Adam Orman, Board President and co-founder, Good Work Austin
Peter Schwarz, Co-founder and consultant, Sound Music Cities
Selena Xie, President, Austin EMS Association
Moderator: Dan Solomon, Senior Editor, Texas Monthly")
