Sam Zeif would know. He was at school on February 14th when former student Nikolas Cruz, 19, stalked through the hallways armed with an AR-15 assault rifle and gunned down 14 innocent students and 3 teachers, including his beloved friend, Joaquin. Ever since then , he and his fellow Parkland shooting survivors have refused to accept gratuitous “thoughts and prayers” for their tragic losses from politicians. Instead, they launched a campaign immediately to demand a ban on the sale of assault weapons and for stricter background checks on gun purchases. They have called out Republican politicians for accepting “blood money” from the NRA, in exchange for turning a blind eye and deaf ear, to calls for any and all restrictions on gun purchases and use.
And, they have a lot of ammunition in making their case for stricter gun safety laws. Firearms now kill almost 34,000 people in the US every year and injure almost 74,000. Americans are 25 times more likely to be killed in a gun-related murder than citizens in any other developed country! The only difference between the US and those other nations is the far, far greater access to firearms in America. No other country has the numerous mass shootings and school shootings that America has. Already in 2018, the US has had 17 school shootings, including Parkland and Great Mills High School in Maryland, in which two high school students died on Tuesday, March 20th. No other country has 53% of 13 to 17 year-olds who say that gun violence is a major worry for them, according to a new USA Today poll. Forty-two percent of the students polled responded that they will participate in on eof the multiple marches across the US tomorrow, March 24. That will make it by far the largest student-led protest in the history of the country.
The March For Our Lives protests have been organized by the grieving but determined Parkland students. The main march kicks off in Washington, DC, at noon tomorrow, but there are marches all across the country and in fact, all around the world — 841 in total. The New York City rally starts at 11 am ET, the LA march begins at 9 am PT. You can go to The March For Our Lives website to locate a march near you and get all the time and place information.
This is a huge opportunity to send an impossible-to-ignore message to politicians across the country. The lives of our kids are far more important that the right for absolutely anyone to buy an assault rifle, with no questions asked. As the Parkland students have pointed out time and time again in interviews – politicians are supposed to work for us — the voters — and not for the NRA. It’s time to remind them of that very important fact. They were elected to protect us. Not to promote the sales of gun manufacturers. If they chose to ignore the millions and millions of students and other Americans who march across the nation tomorrow, and not pass stronger gun control laws, then Americans can vote them out in the midterms! If you want to stand with tragically lost Joaquin Oliver and the over 33,000 Americans whose lives were taken by gun violence in the past year — then march and tell Donald Trump and Congress that Enough is Enough!
HollywoodLife.com will be covering all of the March For Our Lives events tomorrow, on the ground and on the site, so we will keep you up with everything that happens.