After School Shooting, Students Lobby for Legislature, Organize Protests
As the nation reels from the February 14th shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the issue of gun control is once again very at the front of the political conversation.
The affected students are marching and organizing others to do the same. Advocates from both sides are advocating, and politicians are taking sides and taking action. Some are pushing for new regulations, like Gov. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who introduced a plan to raise the legal gun-buying age to 21 years old. Scott also wants to ban mentally ill individuals from purchasing firearms, as well as outlaw “bump stocks,” which can convert semi-automatic weapons to fully automatic.
However, Scott declined to ban assault rifles such as the AR-15 that Nikolas Cruz used to kill 17 at Douglas. “Banning specific weapons is not going to fix this,” said Scott. On March 7th, the Florida House of Representatives voted to pass a bill that adds a three-day waiting period for many rifle purchases and raises the minimum age for purchasing rifles to 21. The legislation also provides millions of dollars for improving school security, as well as training and arming school employees. Scott signed the bill on March 9th.
President Trump has also pushed for training and arming teachers in order to increase and improve school security. “Armed Educators (and trusted people who work within a school) love our students and will protect them… shootings will not happen again,” the president tweeted on February 24th. According to CBS News, eight states currently allow teachers with concealed carry licenses to carry arms in the classroom, and four others are considering the idea.
The National Rifle Association (NRA), one of the biggest pro-gun lobbies in the country, is a staunch supporter of the idea. There are also several anti-gun organizations currently opposing the plan. Avery Gardiner, co-president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, called arming teachers a “colossally stupid idea.” Trump does support the ideas of raising the gun-buying age and banning bump stocks.
Meanwhile, students from Douglas High have started campaigns to compel state and federal lawmakers into action. This includes nationwide protests including a “March for our Lives” in D.C. on March 24th and a walkout/moment of silence on March 14th. However, they hit their first hurdle when the Florida House of Representatives failed to pass a ban on semiautomatic weapons on February 20th, with survivors in attendance and en route to the state Capitol. However, they later achieved a victory with the waiting-period bill.
Burke plans to participate in the walkout by allowing students to skip assembly and stand silently on Connecticut Avenue for 17 minutes to honor the 17 victims. However, Alex Mountfield ’18 took issue with this plan. “We shouldn’t be having a moment of silence to honor the deaths of children while standing on the side of a major roadway… I think we should have our silent movie not on the side of Connecticut Avenue.”
Gun control is one of the most complicated issues in American politics: liberals have long been pushing for stricter federal regulations, while conservatives and groups like the NRA cite the Second Amendment as justification for protecting guns and gun owners. The Parkland shooting has presented another chance for Donald Trump to make clear his stance on the issue, but even some of his supporters have had mixed responses. John Cornyn, the second-highest-ranking Republican Senator, broke from Trump, saying that raising the gun-buying age would not “save lives” and doesn’t get at the “root of the problem.” Cornyn has instead proposed a bill that would reform the nationwide background check system.
