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Florida massacre survivors chant 'vote them out' as other students walk out in solidarity
The Stoneman High School students who met with Florida legislators this morning are now speaking to the national media. They are disappointed in their legislators and thoroughly disgusted about yesterdays overwhelming "no" vote in Tallahassee to not even consider a statewide ban on semi-automatic weapons. They swore to politically align and campaign en-mass against any Florida lawmaker that accepts NRA money.
The question is, will this movement peter-out, or gather nationwide momentum? If the latter, the November midterms could be a watershed event in American history.
By Eliott C. McLaughlin, Holly Yan and Faith Karim0i
Wed February 21, 2018
High school students in Iowa walking out of their school in protest today over lax gun laws
Tallahassee, Florida (CNN)Just one week after surviving a massacre that killed 17 people, grieving students confronted Florida lawmakers Wednesday to demand a ban on assault weapons. As they took up their fight in Tallahassee, students from Palm Beach to Washington walked out in solidarity -- disgusted by yet another school massacre with no change in gun laws. -- Protesters chanted "vote them out" at a #NeverAgain rally outside the Capitol building Wednesday. Speakers, including massacre survivor Florence Yared, demanded a ban to assault weapons. "I'm not trying to take away your right" to bear arms, she said. "But we cannot protect our guns before we protect our children." Across South Florida, thousands of students walked out in solidarity with the survivors from the school in Parkland. Some walked 10 miles to get to Stoneman Douglas High School. Hundreds of students in the Washington DC area also walked out in support of the Florida students. Kai Koerber is one of about 100 students from Parkland's Stoneman Douglas High School meeting with several lawmakers Wednesday. "The legislation needs to change, because we've fallen victim to lazy legislation for far too long," he said.
Spencer Blum, junior at the same school, said he won't rest until the laws are changed or until the lawmakers get booted. "Our goal here is to get a complete ban on assault weapons in the state of Florida, and we will not accept anything else," he said. As students rallied outside the Capitol building, thousands of teens from across the state walked out in support of Stoneman Douglas students. Some walked 10 miles, arm-in-arm, to get to Stoneman Douglas. But the grief-stricken teens suffered a blow Tuesday, when state lawmakers voted 71-36 against a measure to consider a ban on semi-automatic weapons. "It seemed almost heartless how they immediately pushed the button to say no." Almost all 71 lawmakers who voted against considering an assault rifle ban have an "A" rating from the National Rifle Association. Senior Chris Grady, 19, gave the politicians an ultimatum: "If you're not with us, you're against us, and you're against saving the lives of innocent children. And we are going to be voting you out," he said.
The Stoneman High School students who met with Florida legislators this morning are now speaking to the national media. They are disappointed in their legislators and thoroughly disgusted about yesterdays overwhelming "no" vote in Tallahassee to not even consider a statewide ban on semi-automatic weapons. They swore to politically align and campaign en-mass against any Florida lawmaker that accepts NRA money.
The question is, will this movement peter-out, or gather nationwide momentum? If the latter, the November midterms could be a watershed event in American history.
