In the days
following the Parkland shootings, I was surprised and delighted to hear the
strong voices of students from the high school where the gun massacre had occurred.
It was not their parents or other concerned citizens; rather it was 14 year
olds and 17 year olds who grieved and raged and said “other generations before
us failed to stop this madness but we will not.”
Out of students has
come a movement called March For Our
Lives. I understand that on March 24, peaceful student-led marches will occur in cities throughout
the country, including Raleigh and Greensboro. Here is the mission statement of
these students:
Mission Statement
Not one more. We cannot allow one more
child to be shot at school. We cannot allow one more teacher to make a choice
to jump in front of a firing assault rifle to save the lives of students. We
cannot allow one more family to wait for a call or text that never comes. Our
schools are unsafe. Our children and teachers are dying. We must make it our
top priority to save these lives.
March For Our Lives is created by,
inspired by, and led by students across the country who will no longer risk
their lives waiting for someone else to take action to stop the epidemic of
mass school shootings that has become all too familiar. In the tragic wake of
the seventeen lives brutally cut short in Florida, politicians are telling us
that now is not the time to talk about guns. March For Our Lives believes
the time is now.
On March 24, the kids and families of
March For Our Lives will take to the streets of Washington, DC to demand that
their lives and safety become a priority. The collective voices of the
March For Our Lives movement will be heard.
School safety is not a political issue.
There cannot be two sides to doing everything in our power to ensure the lives
and futures of children who are at risk of dying when they should be learning,
playing, and growing. The mission and focus of March For Our Lives is to
demand that a comprehensive and effective bill be immediately brought before
Congress to address these gun issues. No special interest group, no
political agenda is more critical than timely passage of legislation to
effectively address the gun violence issues that are rampant in our
country.
Every kid in this country now goes to
school wondering if this day might be their last. We live in fear.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Change is
coming. And it starts now, inspired by and led by the kids who are our hope for
the future. Their young voices will be heard.
Stand with us on March 24. Refuse to
allow one more needless death.