March for Our Lives

by Kaitlyn Thompson

Nearly two months ago, devastation struck Parkland, FL. An active shooter took advantage of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students’ vulnerability by pulling the fire alarm to wreak havoc and terror on all who were in attendance. Since then, there have been many political debates and questions raised about gun control, student safety, arming teachers, the National Rifle Association (NRA) and more. However, the shooting founded a much larger event: March For Our Lives.

On Saturday, March 24, students rallied in Washington, D.C. and other cities across the nation to share their experiences, concerns and opinions. In reality, the March For Our Lives movement is a political statement to support the Democratic agenda on pro-gun control.

It is no surprise that the rally is a hot topic in politics right now, however, what is surprising is how it seems the participating civilians know so little about the cause and the facts to support their opinions.

According to Louder With Crowder, “Where your feely feels don’t care about facts. One person not amused by this is Robert O’Neill, a former Navy SEAL.” O’Neill, took to Twitter to share his views on the march.

“It’s really entertaining to listen to kids who know nothing about guns tell sensible gun-owners how many rounds they need to protect their families,” O’Neill said.

“O’Neill is hardly a tribal Trump supporter. Just a guy who actually understands the Second Amendment and why we have it,” Louder With Crowder said.

March For Our Lives is hardly a rebellion against President Trump, but a movement based solely on emotions rather than what is right. It is easy to want things to change after tragedy strikes, but you have to consider what others may want (in this case the country) and what the best option is to protect Americans. The whole point of the march is to reform or completely abolish the Second Amendment because, according to leftists, owning AR-15s and other arms puts people at risk of being harmed or murdered.  

By altering the Second Amendment, the American people would be left defenseless and on the path to a complete government take over. Kyle Kashuv, a Parkland student survivor, has become a widely heard pro-gun supporter. On March 30, Kashuv tweeted his opinion of the Second Amendment.

“#2A (Second Amendment) isn’t about hunting, it’s about keeping the government in check so it doesn’t go tyrannical,” Kashuv said.

With younger generations becoming of age to take the lead and share their opinions, they are voicing their opinions, as the Constitution says is our right to do, but they are doing so without knowing and researching the facts. This world is so used to reading and believing what Twitter has to say, they assume that those tweets or posts are factual statements.

It has been stated that the March For Our Lives had an attendance of 200,000 people (The Daily Wire). Those who attended the marches attacked the problems rather than focusing on how to improve on laws, but they were practicing their First Amendment right as stated by the U.S. Constitution.

Tomi Lahren, Fox News contributor, stated in her ‘Final Thoughts’ on March 26, “…I’m glad the young people in this country are exercising their first amendment rights. The rights generations of Americans have fought and died to protect. You have a voice and you deserve to be heard…”

The First Amendment is what has given the Parkland survivors a voice in light of their school’s disaster. David Hogg and Kyle Kashuv are two Parkland students who have made their voices heard after their school was intruded upon.

Although each support different views, they each are trying to make a difference in the world. Just as people have the right to own guns, they have the right to speak on what they believe. The march simply just gave students and civilian supporters a voice on a level that could not be ignored by politicians.

At this point, these issues can only be resolved if those in office are willing to listen to the American people. No, guns should not be put under strict surveillance or be taken away from their owners, but the government must find a medium that pleases the people and does not favor one political party over another.

The fight for gun control is not about Democrats wanting to take away owned and legal firearms from Americans or Republicans wanting to destroy the Democrats concern. The fight is simply about trying to stop disasters from occurring because most of these fights come down to illegally obtained firearms. March For Our Lives was only a political stunt that helped to publicize the people’s opinions; even if the people handled the matter in a more vulgar, inappropriate way.

*The views expressed by the author of this article are not the opinions held by the Chronicle.