Parkland Survivors Will March On Washington To Shame Useless Politicians
March 24, teens will rally to demand that Congress acts to keep them safe from shootings
Last week’s shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killed more than a dozen teenage students. It was the 8th school shooting to cause injury or death so far in 2018, and the latest in decades worth of shootings that have left countless kids dead in school, a place they should be safe.
Shooting after shooting, Congress refuses to act, instead content to take donations from the National Rifle Association and watch more kids die. Since the adults won’t do anything about this, the kids will. On March 24, there will be a march on Washington, D.C., organized by the teenage survivors of the Parkland shooting.
“People are saying that it’s not time to talk about gun control. And we can respect that, (but) here’s a time: March 24 in every single city,” student Cameron Kasky, a 17-year-old organizer of the March For Our Lives, said during an appearance on ABC News’ This Week announcing the march. “We are going to be marching together as students begging for our lives.”
According to its website, the March For Our Lives will fill the streets of Washington, D.C. with teens and their families, demanding action on gun control. For those who can’t get to D.C., there will be marches held in other towns, though the website doesn’t list information on those yet.
“Not one more. We cannot allow one more child to be shot at school,” the March For Our Lives’ mission statement reads. “We cannot allow one more teacher to make a choice to jump in front of a firing assault rifle to save the lives of students. We cannot allow one more family to wait for a call or text that never comes. Our schools are unsafe. Our children and teachers are dying. We must make it our top priority to save these lives.”
Fellow student Emma Gonzalez also appeared during the segment, and added, “The kids who need to take part in this are kids, everyday kids just like us. They are students who need to understand that this can very quickly happen to them… They need to join us, and they need to help us get our message across. All students should realize that a school shooting could happen anywhere.”
In the aftermath of the shooting, student survivors were shown on news networks, begging Congress for gun control efforts that would help slow the tidal wave of school shootings we see in the U.S.
“We’re children, you guys are the adults,” student David Hogg said on CNN. “You need to take some action and play a role. Work together. Come over your politics and get something done.”
It’s a sad state of affairs that literal children, who do not have the power to vote, are having to take this kind of action to get our lawmakers to keep them safe. But hopefully, this is what needs to happen for their voices to be heard.
