March For Our Lives Makes History. Will It Be Effective?
[WASHINGTON, DC] — On Saturday, millions of people across the globe participated in the March For Our Lives protests, advocating for stricter gun legislation and an end to gun violence in schools and elsewhere. Of the more than 880 protests in other areas across the United States and around the world, the main event took place in Washington, DC.
To a crowd of thousands that packed the streets on and around Pennsylvania Avenue NW, students activists from all over the nation, especially from Marjory Stoneman Douglass High School and Newtown High School (CT), voiced their frustrations with Congress and their hopes for the future.
David Hogg of Stoneman Douglass, one of the major faces of the movement, told the crowd “Today is the beginning of spring, and tomorrow is the beginning of democracy,” going on to warn “those politicians that say change will not come, I say: We will not stop until every man, every woman, every child, and every American can live without fear of gun violence.”
From Chicago’s West Side, North Lawndale College Prep student D’Angelo McDade shared his own trauma with gun violence, saying “I, too, am a victim, a survivor and a victor of gun violence. I come from a place where minorities are controlled by both violence and poverty…but today we say ‘No more!’”
Emma Gonzalez, another Marjory Stoneman Douglass student, held the crowd in a moment of silence for 6 minutes and 20 seconds, the duration of the Valentine’s Day shooting. She then urged the crowd to “Fight for your lives before it’s someone else’s job.”
While most of the speakers were high school-aged, some were much younger.
11-year-old Naomi Wadler made it clear that she joined the cause “to acknowledge and represent the African-American girls whose stories don’t make the front page of every national newspaper.” Also, Yolanda Renee King, the 9-year-old granddaughter of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. proclaimed “I have a dream that enough is enough. And that this should be a gun-free world, period,” invoking her grandfather’s famous remarks.
In addition to the thousands of protesters in attendance, several political figures made appearances to show their support for the students’ efforts, despite criticisms of Congress being openly expressed in their presence. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) was among them.
Asked what she would tell students in her state, Gillibrand said “Your voices matter and that marching today can make a difference.”
“Every member of Congress in New York State is on notice that the American people, that New Yorkers want change. All of these children’s lives are at risk and we have to do what’s right as parents, as adults, as legislators to make sure they are protected and that means common sense gun reform,” she added.
In Gillibrand’s state, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of New York City and other communities in solidarity with the cause.
Nikki Shaner-Bradford, a junior at Barnard College, marched with the non-profit New Yorkers Against Gun Violence and New York Attorney General Schneiderman in the New York City march.
While she, like many others, was motivated to join the protest, she believes there is more to be done to reach the end goal.
“Although the march today was incredibly inspiring, I don’t believe that it will spark federal change all on its own,” Shaner-Bradford said.
“The issues and politics surrounding gun violence are very complex and the fight for federal gun control legislation is highly controversial. This march is an amazing display of what students and passionate individuals can do and the noise we can make, but I think it will take a longer effort to see the changes we are hoping to achieve” she added.
Nonetheless, Shaner-Bradford, who is also Editor In Chief of the Columbia Review, is “excited to be part of that longer effort” and believes “we will eventually get the gun control legislation we want.”
A common theme of the protest was that they were highly anti-NRA. To protesters, the National Rifle Association was the number-one obstacle standing in the way of a gun violence-free America.
Amy Schumer, speaking at the Los Angeles march, called out the NRA, asking “How do they sleep at night?”
She claimed that America’s ‘longest-standing civil rights organization’ was “killing children,” echoing the sentiments of millions of Americans who believe the NRA’s priorities are more focused on protecting gun rights over protecting children’s lives.
The NRA, as expected, begs to differ.
“Stand and Fight for our Kids’ Safety by Joining NRA,” the association said in a Facebook post the morning of the March For Our Lives.
The organization, which boasts over 5 million members, went on to note that they believe the “protests aren’t spontaneous. Gun-hating billionaires and Hollywood elites are manipulating and exploiting children as part of their plan to DESTROY the Second Amendment and strip us of our right to defend ourselves and our loved ones.”
Tucker Carlson, host of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on Fox News, echoed the NRA’s sentiment, saying that the pro-gun control protesters “demand that you [gun owners who support the NRA] be punished for crimes others committed.” He also claimed the Parkland shooting victims were being manipulated by the Left to avoid real conversations and debates regarding gun control.
The Fox News host alluded to the notion that celebrities and big-name media outlets have given the Parkland victims, along with many other young people who support similar causes, considerable coverage while young people who don’t support such causes or support conservative causes are left in the dark and do not get the same love and support.
While both the pro and anti-gun control platforms are well supported, generally, there seems to be a consensus between both sides: Children should not be unjustly killed by gun violence.
Despite the shaky consensus, some anti-gun control voices believe the advocates for stricter laws aren’t aware the current ones that are in place, hence their reasoning to not have even more restrictive gun legislation. On the opposing side, pro-gun control voices believe there are too many loopholes that give unsuitable people access to potentially harmful firearms and the laws in place are clearly not tight enough if school shootings continue occurring.
Either way, the March(es) For Our Lives and the preparation walkouts that occurred in the weeks leading up to the events, will certainly go down in history, but going forward, will these efforts lead to real action from Congress?
Published on former WordPress blog on March 25, 2018
Edited July 1, 2020
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