February 14th, 2018: Valentine's Day. For most people, a day of gift giving and love. For the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, a day that would change their lives forever.
On this day, an active shooter entered the high school, killing 17 students and teachers. 17, making it the deadliest school shooting the United States has seen since 2012.
Due to social media, word of the shooting spread like wildfire. Videos students recorded on Snapchat circulated on outlets such as Twitter and the shooting was all over the news. The shooter, Nikolas Cruz was arrested on site. His weapon, an AR-15 Assault Rifle.
After tragic school shootings like Columbine and Sandy Hook, the conversation of gun control flooded the nation but soon died down. This time was different. Infuriated students of MSD took to social media to say that they were fed up with gun laws. After watching their classmates lose their lives at the hands of someone only a year older than some of them, with a military-grade weapon, they said, "Enough is enough."
Since the shooting, MSD students like Emma Gonzalez, Cameron Kasky, David Hogg, Sarah Chadwick, and more are leading what could be considered, a revolution.
Schools across the nation have stood up in protest of the current gun laws, fighting to prevent this from ever happening again. On Wednesday, February 22, a march and rally were held in Tallahassee, Florida, to urge citizens to vote out NRA-supporting politicians.
The march began at the Wescott Building on Florida State University's campus and ended directly in front of the capital building, where protestors could hear from MSD survivors, Tallahassee's mayor, Andrew Gilium, and other figures fighting for gun reform.
Over one thousand of people came out to show their support for change and the students of MSD High School.
This is a fight for gun reform. Not a fight to take away anyone's second amendment rights. The fact that just anyone can acquire a military-grade weapon in minutes, is absolutely absurd. The fact that politicians care more about the money they are receiving from the NRA, than our children's safety, is absolutely absurd. School is supposed to be a place where students feel safe and comfortable, not a place where their lives could be at risk. Like one of the signs in the pictures above says, "One child is worth more than all the guns on earth."
There have been a few steps in the right direction since the shooting. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, just north of Broward County where the shooting occurred, announced a free app that will allow students and faculty to report suspicious activity. Governor Rick Scott called to raise the minimum age to 21 to buy guns. Students have met with President Donald Trump to push for gun reform. Things are happening, but it isn't enough.
We should have seen change a long time ago and that is why all those people and I march. Enough is enough. If it wasn't a problem, people wouldn't be saying something. We NEED gun reform. This starts with us. The students of MSD, the youth, have already started the revolution, so we have to be the ones to join them in their fight. So, register to vote and vote, call your senators, push for reform legislation, march, rally, speak out, because if something doesn't change, more lives will be lost.
For those who consistently told us, since Columbine, that after a tragedy is not the time to talk about gun control, "We can respect that. We've lost people. It's important to mourn," MSD junior, Cameron Kasky said. "Here's a time to talk about gun control: March 24. My message for the people in office is: You're either with us or against us. We are losing our lives while the adults are playing around."
Never again.
**(cover photo correction: poster should say MSD not MDS, my apologies.)
