Joseph Theodore Lewis (born May 18, 2000) is an American school safety advocate. Lewis started Newtown Helps Rwanda, a charity that raised money for survivors of the 1994

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...

as well as former

child soldiers in Uganda Child soldiers in Uganda are members of the Lord's Resistance Army, a rebel group that has been abducting young people since 1987 to fill out their ranks. Children and youth (both boys and girls) are usually abducted from their homes, often with one ...

. He previously was a candidate in the

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for

Connecticut state senator The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 99,280 inhabitants. Senat ...

for the 28th district, dropping out before the August primaries to work on a national campaign. He is the older brother of first grade student Jesse Lewis, a victim of the 2012

Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, United States, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people. Twenty of the victims were children between six and seven years old, and t ...

Newtown, Connecticut Newtown is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is part of the Greater Danbury metropolitan area as well as the New York metropolitan area. Newtown was founded in 1705, and later incorporated in 1711. As of the 2020 censu ...

Early life and education

JT Lewis was born Joseph Theodore Lewis on May 18, 2000, to Scarlett Lewis. He is the older brother of six-year-old Jesse Lewis, who was a first grade student at

Sandy Hook Elementary School Sandy may refer to: People and fictional characters *Sandy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Sandy (surname), a list of people *Sandy (singer), Brazilian singer and actress Sandy Leah Lima (born 1983) * (Sandy) ...

when he and others were killed in a shooting at the school on December 14, 2012. He was a twelve-year-old seventh grade student when his brother died. Lewis was raised on a farm with his younger brother and they had horses, dogs, and chickens, which their mother bought in 1998. Several days after the shooting, former president

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

met with Lewis, his mother, and the victims' families at Newtown High School. Lewis recalled the event years later saying that "President Obama treated me with the utmost respect and class. More importantly, ehonored my brother’s memory." Lewis attended Newtown High School and was on the varsity football team, graduating in 2018. Lewis attended

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

as a

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

major. He played on the UConn football team as a walk-on kicker his Freshman year.

Advocacy and politics

After the shooting, Lewis became an advocate for trauma victims and founded the organization Newtown Helps Rwanda, which raises money for relatives of the victims of the 1994

Rwanda genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...

to attend college and also participates in other causes. Survivors of the genocide reached out to Lewis via

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to talk about their traumatic experiences losing family members due to violence and offer their condolences to him. As a gesture of gratitude to the survivors, Lewis founded the organization to raise money for their education. After a few months of fundraising, the organization raised enough money to send several survivors to college and have raised over $35,000. Lewis's organization also helped Ugandan former

child soldier Children (defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child as people under the age of 18) have been recruited for participation in military operations and campaigns throughout history and in many cultures. Children in the military, includ ...

s build fishponds and poultry farms for

self-sufficiency Self-sustainability and self-sufficiency are overlapping states of being in which a person or organization needs little or no help from, or interaction with, others. Self-sufficiency entails the self being enough (to fulfill needs), and a self-s ...

. The organization has expanded its focus to several causes to help victims of trauma, such as victims and survivors of automobile accidents. He has also interned for the non-profit organization Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement, which his mother founded. Lewis co-won the Courage Award at the 2016

Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards is an annual awards show that airs on the Fox television network. The awards honor the year's biggest achievements in music, film, sports, television, fashion, social media, and more, voted by viewers living in the United S ...

for his advocacy work. The award was presented to him by singer Ne-Yo and actress Jessica Alba. He also met with singer

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

after the ceremony. Lewis met with president

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

in 2018 and participated in a roundtable discussion in the

Roosevelt Room The Roosevelt Room is a meeting room in the West Wing of the White House, the home and main workplace of the president of the United States. Located in the center of the wing, near the Oval Office, it is named after two related U.S. president ...

on the Federal Commission on School Safety report that was published after the

Stoneman Douglas High School shooting On February 14, 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Miami suburban town of Parkland, Florida, murdering 17 people and injuring 17 others. Cruz, a former student at t ...

to address gun violence in American schools. He attended with his mother Scarlett and sat next to Andrew Pollack, father of Meadow Pollack, a victim of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, two seats away from the President. He shared his ideas about how to improve school safety with the President and other commission members. After the meeting, Lewis had a private moment with the President in the

Oval Office The Oval Office is the formal working space of the President of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is located in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C. The oval-shaped room ...

. After the

in 2018, Lewis became involved in school safety reform and policy. In July 2019, Lewis announced that he was running as a Republican in the 2020 elections to represent Connecticut's 28th senate district in the

Connecticut State Senate The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 99,280 inhabitants. Sena ...

and unseat third-term incumbent senator

Tony Hwang Tony Hwang (born September 17, 1964) is an American real estate agent and politician. A Republican, he is a member of the Connecticut State Senate, for the 28th District, which covers parts of Fairfield County. Previously, Hwang as a member of the ...

. He decided to run for public office to honor his younger brother. His campaign was centered on improving

gun regulation Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with onl ...

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

and mental health law, and improving school safety. He has been critical of Hwang, saying that Hwang is "all about taking pictures and not taking action." Though he was running as a Republican, Lewis has expressed himself as a unifying figure and working with all lawmakers. If he won the election, he said he would still continue to attend the

as a state senator. He dropped out of the election in July. He announced on

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on July 10 that he accepted a position with President

's 2020 campaign.

Political views

Lewis is a member of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

and has said he is supportive of president

and his administration. He supports improving national background checks on gun purchases. Commenting on his work with the Federal Commission on School Safety report, Lewis commented "It's not 100 percent perfect, but it is a great first step in the school safety movement." He also supports improving security at schools, including having armed guards at schools. Lewis has voiced support for

LGBT civil rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , ...

and is a supporter of

gun rights The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, including securi ...

and the Second Amendment. He criticized the non-profit organization Sandy Hook Promise for using graphic images in their

PSA PSA, PsA, Psa, or psa may refer to: Biology and medicine * Posterior spinal artery * Primary systemic amyloidosis, a disease caused by the accumulation of abnormal proteins * Prostate-specific antigen, an enzyme used as a blood tracer for pros ...

s about school shootings.

Personal life

In 2013, in response to the

, JT's mother Scarlett started the non-profit Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement.

Awards

, Courage Award, 2016.

References

External links

*
JT Lewis
on LinkedIn
JT Lewis
on Twitter {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, JT Living people 2000 births Activists from Connecticut American child activists Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting American gun rights activists People from Connecticut University of Connecticut alumni Connecticut Republicans Candidates in the 2020 United States elections American political candidates Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign American LGBT rights activists