With the Republican Party headed by Donald Trump adamantly refusing to take any action to curb the epidemic of gun violence infecting our country from coast to coast, it’s fallen to the American people to take up the challenge.
After the Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida mass shooting last week during which seventeen people were killed and fifteen wounded when a young man entered the school and opened fire with an AR-15 style rifle, the surviving students are speaking out and advocating for gun reform.
They are planning a massive march on March 24 to demand gun control and challenge the NRA’s stranglehold on the Republican Party.
Here’s the speech from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Emma Gonzalez at an anti-gun rally happening today in Fort Lauderdale https://t.co/CyfMnPDAvW // https://t.co/hgewZy4Cxf https://t.co/gssAmGczuH
— Joshua Chavers (@JoshuaChavers) February 17, 2018
David Hogg, the Florida school shooting survivor who called on lawmakers to "take some action" on guns yesterday, responds to Sen. Marco Rubio saying gun laws won't stop shootings: "I absolutely disagree … I say we implement whatever programs we can" https://t.co/hF26jAP9NA pic.twitter.com/L3gpViIFDa
— CNN (@CNN) February 16, 2018
Massacres like this have become a fixture of American life, and it’s far past time Congress take action to prevent the murders of more children.
Now, a neighboring school is showing solidarity with Stoneman Douglas and is taking a stand against gun violence. Hundreds of students from West Boca Raton High School,—which is located roughly seven miles from Stoneman Douglas — walked out of class today and marched towards the neighboring school The Miami Herald reports.
Local police escorted the student activists to ensure their safety en route to Stoneman Douglas. Other schools in the region also witnessed mass walkouts, with some students headed to the state capital of Tallahassee to stage their protests. Several news networks shared footage of some of the students and several students tweeted out images and videos from the event.
WATCH: Students from Florida's West Boca High School have walked out of their classes, heading towards Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, as part of a call-to-action by students in the area after the mass shooting last week that killed 17 people https://t.co/JoGj3r547e pic.twitter.com/yqeNwj9PVM
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 20, 2018
Students at Fort Lauderdale High School stage a walkout to protest gun violence. “I need someone to explain to me how any of us are supposed to feel safe…when we are in a place that, at any moment, someone can walk in and get shot.” https://t.co/cW5v8E4E7p pic.twitter.com/Y7b0mCZ9Bk
— ABC News (@ABC) February 20, 2018
Hundreds of students decided not to wait for a nationwide walkout planned for later in March, and walked out of their school in Hollywood, Florida, on Tuesday, reportedly to protest gun violence. https://t.co/8xSr7jY78T pic.twitter.com/zsQIJuwfQk
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 20, 2018
West Boca High students yell “WE WANT CHANGE” as they left school to protest for a change in Gun Control Laws #MSDStrong #NeverAgain pic.twitter.com/RWKplxhAQ8
— MJ (@EMJAEEE_) February 20, 2018
TALLAHASSEE BOUND pic.twitter.com/C5855UYNpo
— Sarah Chadwick// #NEVERAGAIN (@sarahchad_) February 20, 2018
It’s absolutely pathetic that the GOP is so beholden to its gun lobbyist donors and firearm fetishists that it’s willing to ignore the wholesale slaughter of American children. They must be shamed into passing gun control legislation, and brave kids are leading the charge.