The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Even after last October’s killing of 58 people by a gunman in Las Vegas who amassed 47 firearms to commit the worst mass shooting in recent US history, legislators accomplished nothing in the way of tighter controls.
Accusing the NRA of “fostering and promoting this gun culture,” Kasky said the students seek “a new normal where there’s a badge of shame on any politician who’s accepting money from the NRA.”
– ‘They want action’ –
“People keep asking us, what about the Stoneman Douglas shooting is going to be different, because this has happened before and change hasn’t come?” said Kasky.
On Wednesday, 17 people lost their lives during a mass shooting at a south Florida high school. Among the dead, were teachers and staff who used their own bodies to shield students from gunfire. https://t.co/79uw91ovwk pic.twitter.com/Kho7sRRSa0
— WJHL (@WJHL11) February 16, 2018
“This is it,” he continued. “We are going to be marching together as students begging for our lives.”
The students did not indicate how many people they expected to join their rallies, but their aims won support from Florida Democratic Congressman Ted Deutch, who said they can make a difference.
“After what they saw, the worst things imaginable, they’re not going to just sit back and take it,” he told “This Week.”
“All I’ve heard all week is how frustrated people are with rhetoric. They want action.”
Florida Republican Congressman Carlos Curbelo, speaking on the same program, said he is working towards bipartisan solutions that could prevent similar tragedies.
“There are a lot of Republicans who are prepared to support reasonable, common-sense gun safety laws,” he said.
Our entire Nation, w/one heavy heart, continues to pray for the victims & their families in Parkland, FL. To teachers, law enforcement, first responders & medical professionals who responded so bravely in the face of danger: We THANK YOU for your courage! https://t.co/3yJsrebZMG pic.twitter.com/ti791dENTy
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 17, 2018
Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff said that although Republicans have faced a bigger hurdle in making gun control a priority, “it’s been a challenge in the Democratic Party as well.”
Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Schiff asked, “How much more of this are we gonna to take? How many more shootings?”
Congress has to get “off its backside” to “stare down the NRA and do the right thing,” he said.
The student survivors’ calls for change “should matter,” said Mark Kelly, a retired astronaut whose wife, former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, was shot and wounded by a deranged gunman.
He said on “Fox News Sunday” that the student activists “are going to vote on this issue probably for the rest of their lives and they’re going to encourage others to do that as well.”
But conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, speaking on the same show, said neither legislation nor marches are the answer.
“It’s not the fault of the NRA,” he said, calling for concealed weapons to be allowed in schools.
“If we are really serious about protecting the kids, we need a mechanism to be defensive.”
