Following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, leaving 17 dead, the students at the school are, rightfully so, calling for state and national gun reform. Their pleas are being met with partisan sentiments and accusations of pushing another’s personal agenda.
The largest group of proponents for state-wide gun control currently are the student survivors themselves who are rallied together and marched outside the Florida Statehouse in Tallahassee, but it isn’t just students in Florida taking a stand. All across the country students are staging walk-outs in support of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and the “Never Again” movement. To name a few, yesterday there were two student-led walk-outs organized at Fort Collins High School in Fort Collins, Colorado and Shepton High School in Plano, Texas.
With all of the clamor being made by students, lawmakers aren’t necessarily providing their support. Since the massacre, a bill was proposed to Florida legislators banning assault rifles and mass magazine purchase statewide. The ban didn’t pass 71-36. This was the main piece of legislation supporters of stricter gun regulations were hoping would push through.
Last week 100 students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School took a bus from Parkland to the Florida Statehouse to protest the current status of gun control in Florida. They were there when the assault rifle ban was shot down. Sheryl Acquaroli, a junior who survived the massacre said in response to the vote, "It seemed almost heartless how they immediately pushed the button to say no."
To add insult to injury, Milwaukee County’s former sheriff David Clarke accused George Soros, a Democrat billionaire, of having a hand in the “well ORGANIZED effort by Florida school students demanding gun control,” via Twitter on Wednesday. His emphasis on the word “organized” in that tweet highlights his skepticism in the actual ability of the students to organize themselves.
Gateway Pundit, a far-right publication went so far as to accuse a student of being trained in anti-gun rhetoric to push the agenda of the FBI. Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida rebuked accusations like these when he tweeted, “is the work of a disgusting group of idiots with no sense of decency.”
These students saw 17 of their classmates die for no reason other than that someone wanted to kill. It is understandable why they would want to respond with a massive stand for more stringent gun control. Despite this, they are neither supported by lawmakers or the people in the media who are trying to befuddle the public’s interpretation of the student’s intentions.
As history has shown, it isn’t until another mass shooting that people truly become concerned with gun control, and when it is your own school, it’s an unimaginable horror coming true. These students are trying to make change happen, but lawmakers aren’t listening to their own constituents. In researching this article, I came across many quotes and reminders that if lawmakers don’t listen, they will be voted out. It’ll be interesting to see how that could play out with upcoming elections and a potential swing in the national Senate on the line. As the recent protests have shown, their constituents are tired of being shot at for the sake of the second amendment.
I understand and appreciate the sanctity of the Constitution and want to keep it upheld, but times do change. When Constitution was written, people had just fought for freedom and couldn’t rely on the new government to protect them. It made sense to include a right for the people to bear arms and protect themselves. The opposite is occurring today; we can’t defend ourselves anymore because innocent people are the target, and we need the government to pass legislation to ensure our safety and give anyone who can safely own a gun the opportunity.
To ever insinuate that a part of the Constitution could be anachronistic is a difficult call, but the Constitution was made to be a living and breathing document. The new generation is calling for help and protection from the legislators they voted in, and for them to make wise decisions that represent their entire constituency, not just those who are 18 and older. Furthermore, the kids aren’t asking to do away with the second amendment, but for it to be refined in their state and our country for the times we currently live in.
It’s time to listen to the kids. From all sides, this is tricky legislation, but as news headlines declare all the time, we can’t wait any longer. As the walk-outs, protests, and news media speeches have proven, kids from all over the country are tired of being targets. The schools can only lockdown so much – they need protective legislation, and no one knows this better than the kids themselves.
