Some student survivors believe it is not too soon after the latest school massacre to broach the subject of sensible gun control. Other students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, however, can sympathize with the sentiments of many who implore the country to allow a period of mourning before delving headfirst into the extremely divisive debate of gun proliferation.
“We can respect that. We’ve lost people. It’s important to mourn,” junior Cameron Kasky said Sunday, according to CNN.
“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.”
Other students vowed resolutely that they are going after the National Rifle Association and the many politicians who are the beneficiaries of the NRA’s multimillion-dollar lobbying gifts, Kasky and some of his surviving classmates said.
The NRA did not return calls seeking comment from multiple media outlets.
According to USA Today, one student in particular, Emma Gonzalez, roared with an awe-inspiring message for the White House when she took the stage at the anti-gun rally outside the Broward County Federal Courthouse this past weekend.
“We are going to be the last mass shooting,” she announced in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, adding that the avoidable bloodbath would be used to spearhead a “change in the law.”
“That’s going to be Marjory Stoneman Douglas in that textbook,” Gonzalez continued, “and it’s all going to be due to the tireless efforts of the school board, the faculty members, the family members and most importantly the students.”
Most powerfully, Emma pointed a figurative finger at President Donald Trump’s response to the shooting. “If the president wants to come up to me and tell me to my face that it was a terrible tragedy, and how it should never have happened, and maintain telling us how nothing is going to be done about it, I’m going to happily ask him how much money he received from the National Rifle Association,” she said, adding, “But hey, you want to know something? It doesn’t matter, because I already know: $30 million. To every politician who is taking donations from the NRA, shame on you!”
What do you think about the gun-control debate raging in America today? And do you think Emma Gonzalez took the right approach with Donald Trump?
