Florida High School Shooting Survivors Announce a March on Washington
Following the horrific shooting that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, last week, the student survivors are calling for a march on Washington to demand immediate action on gun control reform.
Calling it "The March for Our Lives," the teenagers organizing the protest told ABC News' "This Week" anchor Martha Raddatz on Sunday that the protest is scheduled to take place on March 24. The plans are to include students “in every single major city” in hopes of sending a message to the White House about how the substantive improvement of preexisting gun control laws could, quite literally, save lives.
“We are losing our lives while the adults are playing around," junior Cameron Kasky told Raddatz. “This isn’t about the GOP; this isn’t about the Democrats. This is about us creating a badge of shame for any politicians who are accepting money from the NRA and using us as collateral."
David Hogg, another survivor, agreed, adding: "It’s time for us to stand up and take action and hold our elected officials responsible."
On Saturday, Marjory Stoneman Douglas senior Emma Gonzalez made an impassioned cry for legislative reform at a gun control rally in Fort Lauderdale, "calling BS" on Trump, lawmakers, and the NRA for their inaction and citing the necessity for immediate legislative reform. She joined Kasky, Hogg, and two other classmates in this call to action, saying: "We are going to be the difference."
In addition to the march, momentum is also building for an official school walkout on March 14. Planned in part by the Women's March organizers, the act of protest would mark the one-month anniversary of the South Florida shooting.
Together, the young survivors of last week's shooting are determined to harness these upcoming protests to incite a turning point in the national debate over gun laws and force the government to get on board. As high school junior Cameron Kasky concluded: "My message for the people in office is: You're either with us, or against us."
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