Days after the horrific Parkland school shooting left 17 people dead; survivors are planning a major protest against gun violence in Washington, according to ABC News .
Not unlike previous mass shootings, which have become increasingly frequent over the last few years, the Parkland tragedy revived the debate around gun reform. People from all sides of the political spectrum have debated whether or not the escalating gun violence demands affirmative action on the part of the lawmakers. Often, this debate seems to have lines drawn along partisan preferences, but this time the backlash is different.
Because now the students are taking the batons in their own hands.
As reported by the Inquisitr earlier, several survivors of the Parkland tragedy assembled at Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, demanding that president Trump and the Congress take action on gun reform. An emotional roller-coaster for the assembled crowd, many of whom were family members of victims from previous mass shootings, the protest saw speakers demand urgency on the part of both the administration and gun reform advocates.
Student organizers told reporters that they are going to use this protest as a springboard for a much more massive demonstration targeted at lawmakers, called the March for Our Lives, which is being planned for March 24 in Washington. While previous mass shootings have caused a lot of outrage and introspection, but have brought no tangible result for gun reform advocates, students contend that they are determined to make the Parkland shooting a turning point in American gun laws.
On March 24 we will take the streets of Washington DC and our communities across the country to #MarchForOurLives . Sign up at https://t.co/2m7ItdfFjV pic.twitter.com/yokyEdj7Jq
— March For Our Lives ?? (@AMarch4OurLives) February 18, 2018
“People keep asking us, what about the Stoneman Douglas shooting is going to be different, because this has happened before and change hasn’t come?” said 11th-grader Cameron Kasky, who is one of the organizers of the event along with students Emma Gonzalez, David Hogg, Alex Wind and Jaclyn Corin.
“This is it,” Kasky pledged.
Her friend Emma Gonzales has already become popular among gun reform advocates after her ‘We call BS’ speech, in which she raged against Trump and the NRA, went viral on the internet.
Kasky also dismissed that the Washington march was a liberal ploy — an accusation often thrown at organizers of protesters targeting change in gun laws — arguing that the debate on gun violence in America needs to happen despite partisan bickering.
“This isn’t about the GOP. This isn’t about the Democrats.
“Any politician on either side who is taking money from the NRA is responsible for events like this. At the end of the day, the NRA is fostering and promoting this gun culture.”
Gonzales echoed Kasky’s views, saying that the students want to reach out to politicians — Republican or Democrat — to bring an end to the rampant gun violence tearing apart American society. The students said they would want to have conversations with President Trump, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, and Governor Rick Scott, who are all Republicans.
“We want to give them the opportunity to be on the right side of this,” she said.
