It has been over a week since an armed nineteen-year old killed seventeen people in just six minutes with a semiautomatic weapon at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. This story is unfortunately one we have all heard before. An individual easily acquires a weapon and uses it to take innocent lives. The news alerts pop up on our phones. We sigh and shake our heads and grieve. Politicians offers thoughts and prayers. The news eventually fades into the background of the media cycle. No laws get passed limiting access to guns. And then another shooting occurs.
There have been 18 school shootings since the beginning of 2018. It is mid-February.
But this time, something seems different.
Because the teenage student survivors at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School refuse to be silenced. And they refuse to let the rest of us forget. This week, after they attended their fellow classmates’ and teachers’ funereals and given interview after interview to major news outlets, they will travel to the state capital of Tallahassee to call for ban on assault rifles.
The teenagers’ rage over politicians’ lack of response has inspired protests and social media appeals. Tweets from the survivors have gone viral, as they call out President Trump and his reluctance to vote for gun control and urge politicians to take action.
@realDonaldTrump hello I’m the 16 year old girl who tweeted you that I didn’t want your condolences, I wanted gun control, and went viral because of it. I heard you are coming to my community soon. I would love for you to hear my opinions on gun control in person.
- a survivor
— Sarah Chadwick// #NEVERAGAIN (@sarahchad_) February 16, 2018
These teenagers have grown up in a generation of mass shootings. They were just kids when elementary school children were killed in Sandy Hook 2012. Most weren’t even born yet when the Columbine shooting occurred in 1999. They know what to do when code reds are enacted during their school day. They know how real active shooting drills can be. They know to sit silently and hide in closets or to run away.
And now they are embracing their immense grief and anger and calling for legislative change. Because these teenagers know that political action is the only way tradegies like these can be prevented from ever happening again.