More than 800,000 people jammed Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, March 24. The March for Our Lives event was led by students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who survived the horrible shooting that took 17 lives in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 14.
#NeverAgain was plastered everywhere on the news Saturday afternoon as well as other political signs like “The scariest thing in school should be my grades.” The Parkland students demand five things from the U.S. government:
•A ban on semi-automatic weapons that fire high-velocity rounds.
•A ban on bump stocks and accessories that simulate automatic weapons.
•The creation of a database for gun sales and universal background checks.
•Raise the legal age to purchase guns to 21.
•Close the gun show loophole and loophole for second-hand gun sales.
It was not just the Parkland students that took part in this event in Washington. Over 800 other March for Our Lives rallies took place in the United States and around the world.
Although so many rules and laws are controlled by adults, this is the time where students spoke up and should continue to do so. Emma Gonzalez, a student from Parkland, gave one of the most powerful and moving speeches from the rally. She spoke about the time it took for the shooter to kill 17 people.
“Six minutes and 20 seconds with an AR-15 and my friend Carmen would never complain to me about piano practice. Aaron Feis would never call Kira, ‘Miss Sunshine.’ Alex Schachter would never walk into school with his brother Ryan. Scott Beigel would never joke around with Cameron at camp. Helena Ramsey would never hang out after school with Max. Gina Montalto would never wave to her friend Liam at lunch. Joaquin Oliver would never play basketball with Sam or Dylan. Alaina Petty would never. Cara Loughran would never. Chris Hixon would never. Luke Hoyer would never. Martin Duque Anguiano would never. Peter Wang would never. Alyssa Alhadeff would never. Jamie Guttenberg would never. Meadow Pollack would never,” Gonzalez said.
In silence, with tears streaming down her face, she stood at the podium until 6 minutes and 20 seconds elapsed, equaling the time it took for the shooter to go through the school. These gut wrenching minutes made every word that she had said become even more real. Gonzalez ended her speech with only a few words after the minutes were up. “Fight for your life before it’s somebody else’s job,” she said.
There have been many critics of this movement. Many gun owners are opposed to the demands and changes that the marchers want implemented after the school shooting. There is one thing we can all agree on. No one wants another school shooting. No one wants another six minutes and 20 seconds of mass murder to happen. No one wants more people to have to go through the terror that the Parkland kids did. Enough is enough.
Cedar Falls’ March for Our Lives rally was postponed because of harsh weather on Saturday, but it is rescheduled for this Saturday, March 31 at 4 p.m., beginning in Gateway Park.
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