"Whether or not they register and vote to change it, is obviously the $64 million question."
I registered to vote as soon as I was old enough to do so and I have voted in every voted in every election. Nonetheless, this focus on voting as the most effective means of political power has me shaking my head.
First of all, we are well aware of the vulnerabilities of our election institutions. Multiple layers of voter suppression threaten to exclude voters and their votes before and after they attempt to register or cast their ballots.
Even after the votes are cast, we find ourselves subject to partisan processes that control which votes count and which party rules, as was the case, most recently, in deciding the legislative majority in Virginia, and most famously in Bush v. Gore.
The rights of assembly and freedom of speech are powerful, important, and enshrined in the Constitution. They have also been under severe attack for decades. As a result, those rights have been diminished. Most of these kids are not yet eligible to vote, but they are doing more than most of the adults who are judging them and tweeting about them by organizing and project political power from the streets. In the process, they are reclaiming rights that their elders have substantially forfeited.
In countries where the citizens never had legitimate voting rights, regimes and their walls have come down when the people take to the streets. Even if they never vote, these kids are doing a great thing.
10
In my day we railed against the military-industrial complex. These days the youth are beginning to rail against the NRA and spinmeisters and politicians who seek to protect their own power and fortune. Emotion is the genesis of many a movement. Perseverance, focus, diligence and personal sacrifice are many of the key pieces required to take a movement to the next level - change. It will be interesting to see whether a generation raised on social media, selfies, immediate gratification, me first and an ever more debasing of social norms will be able to sustain a movement that pits itself against organized and institutionalized intransigent forces. Perhaps the amassed experiential and financial wealth of social media barons and baronesses (Yes you Facebook, Twitter, Apple, Google, Snapchat, etc.) may yet begin to positively impact the issues they have indirectly and directly, at times, helped create, aid or abet. Then again Spring break and summer are coming. Will the mobilized resume their self-indulgent ways or will they continue to press on with a struggle that is truly bigger than themselves and requires years of commitment?
3
At the risk of sounding like an old fogey, my father taught me from a young age that voting was a precious right, and that it is to be exercised at every opportunity.
I have followed his advice even when I held my nose as I marked my ballot. I like to think from time to time that my vote made a difference.
I give this advice to all the kids - and adults- who will march tomorrow. You have an amazing amount of support and goodwill behind you. Leverage it for real change.
13
Trump just signed a 1.3 trillion dollar spending bill which the majority went to the military to manufacture weapons to annilate the planet! And threw young Americans under the bus and went golfing! Where are the rest of these cowards? Ashamed of your country yet?
21
This 60 something will be marching with young and old tomorrow in West Palm
Beach. Watch out Donald... We are coming for you and your compatriots. We will over come!
18
What does this say about a country whose high school students have to beg for their lives and ask not to be shot and killed at school. We have lost our way.
20
These politicians SHOULD be scared. What I have learned about this upcoming generation: they like to be heard and do not like to be told they are dumb and self-centered. To think this movement is just a passing fad is foolish. These kids have seen their classmates shot and it is still reverberating. They know the statistics and aren’t just marching for themselves, but for past and future victims. They are armed with technology and they know how to leverage it. There are more post-millennial children than there are millennials or gen-xers. Parents raising teens need to encourage their children to register to vote, teach them how to research politicians, and to support the issues which matter to them personally. We discuss politics and politicians often in our household. My daughter turned 18 this year and she is excited to vote. We have encouraged her to exercise this right, especially in the existing era. We live in a swing state, so we have the ability to shake things up and vote NRA-sponsored politicians, like Dean Heller, out of office. We stand with the Parkland students and any movement encouraging sensible guns rights. #notonemore
12
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in his majority opinion in 2008’s landmark Heller case : “Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited.” It is “not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose.”
11
BUT what can they or will they do to get out the vote!?
3
GO KIDS!!!! don't take no for an answer...you are the future in more ways than 12.
6
Our senile political system offers no future to the young. Best of luck to them as they create their own!
5
I just hope these youngsters stay engaged enough to vote. Twice I've seen what can happen when a huge majority of young people decide to vote. Their chosen candidates won.
5
Kids, how can I help you?
9
“It’s not going to change anything about our laws,” Mr. Melchior said of the march on Washington. “What I see is children that are just plain confused.”
What I see is YOUNG ADULTS who are awake to the issue, and who understand that they must make and take a stand for what they believe in. I hope and pray that they keep going - they are America's salvation, because this is going to be THEIR world - long after we, the polluters, the deniers of climate change, the accepters-of-status-quo on lack of gun legislation are gone.
11
"...They face a political system that is historically resistant to major change, and a Republican president and Congress with a strong base of support among much older voters, many of whom have more conservative views on guns."
MY MESSAGE TO AMERICA'S YOUTH:
You DO deserve to live
You DO deserve respect.
You DO deserve security.
You DO deserve education.
You DO deserve health care.
You DO deserve to love anyone.
You DO deserve economic opportunity.
You DO have the power to effect change.
You DO have the energy to overcome the status quo.
You DO deserve the rights that are now being given only to corporations.
SO . . .
Do NOT trust adults...until you see results.
Do NOT trust politicians...until you see results.
Do NOT believe the naysayers...you have rights too.
Do NOT believe those who dismiss you...you see clearly.
Do NOT become discouraged...be steady, be patient, be tough.
Do NOT let older voters determine your fate...they don't care and can't see.
GOOD LUCK AND GODSPEED - PLEASE, SAVE AMERICA FOR US!
You DO have the support of many adults who applaud and support you.
11
I am 69 years old and I am marching with these students here in Seattle tomorrow. These kids give me hope.
24
"Well, I called my congressman
And he said, quote:
"I'd like to help you, son
But you're too young to vote"
Summertime Blues
Lyrics by Eddie Cochran, Jerry Neal Capehart
10
I'd be more optimistic if we hadn't already seen this show before: youth protest war, the "man", inequality, and more; youth grow up to discover they don't want to pay for their idealism and vote accordingly for the next 40 years; grown-up youth reproduce thinking their precious spawn, of which we already have 4 billion too many, are more important than than the sacrifices necessary to advance a progressive agenda which, ironically, would have only helped their spawn once they grow up; rinse and repeat.
I'll believe it if/when I see the real follow-through in the next 10-20 years.
5
A lot of these kids are old enough to vote, and, all of those that aren't old enough now, eventually will be. Got that, republicans?
10
Not the ones killed with an AR-15.
2
What a waste of time and energy. Congress will do nothing — they know these students don't vote, don't do anything, and their parents do nothing either — so it will be the same old same old — Nothing is going to happen now or at the next election or even in the next decade.
The electorate must demand real and significant gun law reform and must insist that any person running for political office on any level must stand first and foremost upon that platform. The media has a role to play in keeping the public focused on that goal and in moving public opinion toward that direction. The electorate must not be distracted by the machinations of the powerful influences who feel otherwise. This is the only way for us to effect change and I think if we accomplish this achievable goal many other progressive issues will follow.
4
• Republicans have sent 'thoughts and prayers' for too long so guns could live so children could die.
"Nothing fails like prayer."
~ ANNIE LAURIE GAYLOR
• Welcome to reality.
"Two hands working can do more than a thousand clasped in prayer."
~ Madalyn Murray O'Hair
14
Perhaps they will really wake up when they are old enough to vote!
1
I'd appreciate this as a political movement if I hadn't seen how much my union, the California Teachers Association, has pressured us to "encourage" our students to express "their" opinions about gun control.
Several of these students have independent opinions. Most, however, are responding to manipulation.
6
Brave young people - here is the most vital message of all - tell every young person you see: vote, vote, vote, vote, vote, vote, vote - and go on voting until you win.
12
I disagree with Mr. Melchior , these children are not confused , they are determined to change what the adults haven't . They are after all the future of America and in spite of the deep grief they have experienced , it has only fueled their anger at a political system that has failed them . I have tremendous admiration for their bravery and wish them success tomorrow.
19
I'm rubbing hard against 70, but I will be proudly marching on Saturday. The Fox Propaganda Machine seems to have captured a number of my generation, and also their children as it's not only angry old men at Trump rallies.. it makes me so sad to see so many so thoroughly deceived. There are few people who are as obvious a liar and con man than Trump, and yet they swallow their morals and their ethics and support him.
Are they really that afraid? How miserable that must be.
In contrast, these articulate young folk give me hope. I'll support them all the way, and that includes, as usual, voicing my support for freedom and equality and non-violence..at the ballot box.
For those who seem to think that we as a nation can just build walls and hide behind them... the horse is out of the barn. The word "Internet" is capitalized for a reason. Returning to bunker mentality is not only doomed for demise, it's literally shooting oneself in the foot, hoping that simple, selfish, and exclusionary solutions are the answer to complex problems.
They want all the rights of gun ownership, but refuse to be responsible. Frankly, when gun owners are finally willing to become responsible for their guns, it will be very hard for anyone who is not responsible to get them.
Hold that line, young people, hold that line....
16
The REAL test of all this organization and activism is: Will it increase significantly, the percentage of young progressive citizens that VOTE!! This is in theory after all a democracy of sorts, so the best way to produce change is by getting out and actually VOTING - taking an active part in the representative democratic process, both in the primaries and the actual elections - come to think of it, aren't primaries going on now in many states?? What's the point of voting if none of the people selected for consideration as candidates by the major political parties, hold similar values to you? So, BRAVO young students - now get out there, organize, get involved in the democratic process especially the primaries at the moment, and MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!
8
I believe these young people will stay engaged. But they won’t necessarily align with either party, rather they will be issue oriented. This is going to be a dramatic change that will have a major impact on party affiliation.
2
3 percent.
That was the turnout among Millennials in the recent Illinois primary. The overall turnout, taking in all age groups, was about 25 percent.
Millennials are slightly older than the teenagers in this news story, but they are the youngest cohort that has a voting record, and it isn't encouraging.
Overall, turnout in the Illinois primary was up from 2010 and 2014. Democratic turnout was way up, while Republican turnout was down. But young people played scarcely any part.
To make an impact on gun control and other issues, these teenagers will need to not just register and vote, but persuade other young people to get involved and vote.
12
All of the young people marching tomorrow should remember two things. The president is a strong supporter of the NRA. They helped fund his campaign. Secondly,he flip-flopped on the gun control promises he made to you after the Stoneman shooting. So come this November (and November, 2020), you can remind him and others of the power of being 18 and having the right to vote. And maybe, just maybe, he'll learn the price of broken promises.
17
These kids are driven, intelligent, energetic, and well-spoken, and I'm proud of every one of them. My (Boomer) generation tried to make a difference in the 1960's, but we didn't really follow through. But together, this group can make a difference, because they have the most dangerous weapon of all (to the other side)....the right to vote. I am hoping that everyone of them that is or will be eligible to use it, puts that weapon to good use in the midterms and/or the 2020 election. So be persistent, stay dedicated, don't let adversity get you down, and most of all, keep your eyes on the prize - a fair, tolerant, inclusive, society & a clean environment that you create where you and yours can thrive and prosper.
17
Gonna be crowded here in the DC area on Saturday, but in a good way. Young people, don't shut up - ever. Keep talking and keep pushing, then keep voting, and eventually, it won't matter if the old-fogies won't listen. You'll be in charge and YOUR values will define the future.
17
Am I going to protest tomorrow? No. I have spent my entire adult life protesting and have nothing to show for all of the chanting.
Did Mark Zuckerberg make a statement this week because of a protest? Or was it because he read in the comments that people were deleting their accounts left and right and his stock was falling?
Did companies quit doing business with the NRA the past few weeks because of protests or because customers called and threatened to do business elsewhere?
Breitbart is down to 27 advertisers because customers called and said they would take their business elsewhere if the advertising continued.
Standing in the rain tomorrow shouting, Hey hey, ho ho, all the guns have got to go, is not going to accomplish much of anything. All of my elected officials are so liberal as to make Bernie Sanders look moderate. They will protest along with students to look politically correct but I doubt my city council/mayor will enact any worthwhile legislature next week making schools safer. They are too busy trying to find a safe-heroin-injection site for the homeless:)
When the liberals are given the White House, Congress and the Senate, do they make the world a safer place and get rid of guns or do they sell as many as possible to people around the planet making schools and hospitals into war zones? History has shown us that the Dems are just as war hungry as the Reps and unless we get a new party or three, nothing will change.
3
I don’t think your cynicism is supported by history. Of course I don’t know what you were protesting, but I can think of several examples of successful protest movements within my lifetime.
The civil rights movement is the most obvious. It led to major changes in law and society. Was it 100% successful? Of course not. But we did elect a black president less than 50 years later, with the votes of blacks who were previously disenfranchised. The anti-war movement in the 1960s did in fact put pressure on the government. Did it end the war? That’s debatable, but it clearly was a factor. Most recently the women’s march after the 2016 election may have been a pivot point. Of course we don’t yet know what will happen in 2018, but all indications so far are that women will play a decisive role in the upcoming election, and it will not be to support the status quo.
And, of course, wasn’t the Boston Tea Party a protest movement?
Let us hope these kids do the same. Remember it is not just them. They have parents and grandparents who are being forced to take note and act. We think we teach our kids. In fact, they teach us how to be better people.
16
I'm ashamed of the older generation of adults who have put this country back 20 years by voting Trump - especially when it's likely they won't even be around to see the full fallout from their selfish decision.
They voted against their children and grandchildren. They destroyed the planet. They destroyed the social security network (or will).
They call millennials ungrateful - but I'm shocked and appalled at the pass that the boomers get for sending this country back to the stone age.
12
More control certainly, but violent crime is way down.
I am a retired high school English teacher who wonders what my life would be like were I still teaching in schools where such violence occurs. I have long adored the energy of high school students and how often their energy is a mixture of selfishness and selflessness. What we are seeing with these teenagers is the extent to which the selflessness has emerged. Can any adult image--really image--what it might be like to be a student in a public school today, knowing that at any moment a person with a military type gun (or, for that matter, can gun) could enter and begin a mass slaughter. The NRA is an evil--yes, I said evil and I mean it!--organization. The 2nd Amendment was never intended for this country to become what it has with all these weapons available to almost anyone. I really hope these young people have a huge march, get a lot of publicity and most importantly get themselves, their parents, their grandparents to the polls this November and vote out as many politicans who are bought and paid for by the NRA. Brava! Bravo! young adults.
15
Bravissimo to this young generation. There is hope for our country!
7
No gun control law that has a chance of surviving Second Amendment scrutiny will make much difference. For example, students want to ban assault rifles, but semiautomatic rifles—including assault rifles like the AR-15—are used in only 8.6 percent of mass shootings. The shooter in the worst school shooting—Virginia Tech—used handguns to kill 32 students and teacher. Banning all rifles, including hunting rifles, would make little difference in the body count. According to the 2016 FBI Uniform Crime Report:
• Handguns were used in 7,105 murders.
• Knives were used in 1,604 murders.
• Unarmed killers strangled, beat, kicked or stomped 652 victims to death.
• Blunt instruments were used in 472 murders.
• Rifles (including assault rifles) were used in 374 murders.
• Shotguns were used in 262 murders.
If murderers were deny rifles, they would just use handguns or shotguns,
Student should push for a repeal of the Second Amendment.
http://www.gannett-cdn.com/GDContent/mass-killings/index.html#title
https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2016/crime-in-the-u.s.-2016/tables/...
3
Unarmed killers stamped over 600 to death at one time? Your stats don’t fit the real issue here. Mass shootings in public places. Nice try.
1
The mass shooting fatalities are included in the FBI murder statistics. Mass shooting are shooting in which four or more fatalities occur. About 104 Americans die in mass shootings each year. In 2017, there were 17,250 murders. Would you be content to reduce the annual body count by 104 per year. That would be a 0.6 percent reduction.
2
You obviously have done research about this subject. However, if tougher laws were to protect against a Las Vegas, Orlando etal. and even prevent guns from being in the hands of mentally ill people or some who can snap at any minute, it would help.
I always flash back to one of my best friends in junior high school (term used at that time) died after a hunting trip at 14 years old. His colonel father didn't even have the sense to take out the bullets as he loaded a rifle in the trunk of their car. He dropped the rifle while putting the gun into the trunk ;
my friend died with a shot through his throat.
There are so many stories where guns kill people accidentally, where cops have to fight criminals with assault weapons. So while you make many good points, tougher gun laws can make a difference.
5
Getting gun-control that will actually reduce gun murders (and particularly mass murders) won't be easy.
It's not just "assault rifles:" the overwhelming majority of gun murders are done with handguns, and Virginia Tech (2nd worst school shooting in history, behind Sandy Hook) was done with a pair of semi-auto handguns. (Adam Lanza carried a semi-auto handgun too, most of those carrying a semi-auto carbine do)
Regulation to control the mass murder needs to regulate all semi-auto guns; the gun advocates won't like that.
Regulation to reduce the bulk of murders and most of the stupid gun "accidents" need to regulate handguns -- who has them, how responsible they are.
And to reduce school shootings we need to hold the people who let teenagers take their guns responsible as accessories, for the crimes committed.
2
Hey! Mr. Melchior! Listen to what I, a 15 year old liberal has to say to your idea that the march is "not going to change anything about our laws". I plan to join the thousands of people marching for their lives tomorrow, in my own hometown of Wilmington, NC. Initially, I begged my mom to take me to Washington so I could contribute to the 500,000 plus people who are fed up with legislation, then she made me realize that the close-knit communities need my voice the most so our local lawmakers know we mean business, everywhere. My sign reads: "2020 Voter", simply implying that politicians will fear the future of this fed up generation if they do not take action to stop the violence. And actually, I'm not confused, whatsoever. In fact, I am not a child, nor do I carry the mindset of one. I respectfully say that it is your immature, close-minded beliefs that are not going to change anything about our safety as a country. Children are dying every day to gun violence... OPEN YOUR EYES! Yes, it may seem unbelievable that 'children' could make a difference, but someone has to step up to the plate if its not going to fall in the hands of politicians. Batter up, republicans. We won't leave 'till we hit that home run.
22
You go girl.
10
These kids are awesome, they are savvy and they are organized and some can vote (and others will be able to vote soon).
It will be a battle since Citizens United has flooded the political world with unlimited dark money and we have foreign governments funding the NRA to fund the Republicans (Russia->NRA->Republicans) such that the Republicans are beholden to a NRA/Guns first mentality. The best thing anyone can do is to vote and donate to blue candidates and to lobby to have Citizens United overturned by legislative action. That won't happen unless the House and Senate are flipped blue and we will have to work hard to elect a Democratic President.
9
How are strict licensing laws and limitations on ownership of military weapons infringing on the right to bear arms? Even Justice Scalia recognized that that right is not without boundaries.
Admit it: it’s the slippery slope argument that makes gun owners so deeply against sensible regulation.
7
I admire these kids and wish them the very best. Perhaps they will show us adults how to lead and implement change. Their leaders certainly exhibit more maturity than many of our so-called adult political leaders today. It's obvious that the adults presently in power re not going to pass legislation to protect children from dying at school by the bullet unless a new class of politician comes to Washington. And these kids get that, so I hope their movement to replace pro-gun politicians succeeds. I also hope that we adults will pitch in and help however we can, with emphasis on voting out politicians who work against gun control. Power to these kids, who are now forming and leading a very grown-up movement.
5
I think this generation is quite different than past generations like mine (Late Boomer). They connect deeper and wider and are less insulated from competing ideas. They also are more impatient and demanding of attention. They're also used to getting it. If they can muster the stamina for the really long haul and withstand the political counter attacks that are coming their way, they have the potential to significantly shift the balance of power, especially as the demographically weak conservative base begins to fade.
7
Best student penned sign I've seen: "My Life, Your Hobby."
14
With you in every way. Register and go out and vote in the mid-terms and beyond.
8
Will the gun ban apply to movies and games also?
3
The kids - and anyone under 30 - are key to blunting this surge of rightwing stupidity that's gripped the country since at least the 2010 midterms, but really since the 1990s. Register to vote, go to the polls and then help make today's GOP, Trump and the NRA just a bad memory. It can't happen a moment too soon.
16
Informed voting is the best tool for positive change!
Don't let anyone tell you otherwise and good job!!!
15
Keep it up! They are representing the best of their generation.
12
I could not be more proud of the young people who are doing this, and believe they have the sense and determination to keep our nation strong.
And I could not be more embarrassed by legislators in the states and in DC who cannot see that guns are indeed a problem, and that the fire and fury, macho, "cold dead hands" rhetoric of the NRA is stupid, dangerous, and destructive to our nation.
14
One of the most important questions about gun control is what incremental efforts will produce how much incremental improvement?
The evidence that Australian/Japanese/UK gun control produces great reductions in gun murder and gun harm is overwhelming ... but getting to that looks unlikely to unachievable.
But Canada has a low rate of gun crime and gun murder compared to the USA, and Canadian gun laws are not so very restrictive.
So, are American gun advocates ready to claim that Americans are uniquely violent compared to Canadians? (So that if we copied Canadian law we'd still have our current gun murder rates?) Really? They'd claim that?
4
did you do the math taking into account that Canada has 35 million people and the us has 328 million? probably not
1
That's why we talk in terms of "rates", Bored Critic. Per Capita percentage RATES. You correct (even as it is clear you did not read the comment carefully) that raw numbers would mean nothing. Our commenter was not talking raw numbers.....
I imagine so. Even countries with relatively lax gun laws have relatively far fewer gun deaths than in the US, and far fewer mass shootings as a percentage of the population. Switzerland is a good example. Many adult males keep their service weapon at home - a fully automatic assault weapon. Yet there has never been a mass shooting using such a weapon, and rate of gun deaths, as a percentage of the population, is far lower than the US.
Easy access to high capacity weapons is part of the problem, but it is also a social issue. We are failing to address the social isolation and mental health issues that contribute to gun violence.
4
I understand and support the gun issue. Our political system remains one of the best, if not perfect, there is. I do not want to see mob rule take over no matter how unhappy the country is with our democracy.
1
"Mob rule" is what dictators and oligarchs call democracy.
4
I've got news for you. The US political system is far from perfect, and it is not among the best there is. Many countries have arguably better systems.
6
Interesting how The War on Drugs is widely considered a failure yet, somehow, a War on Guns will succeed. Banning weapons, or certain ones, will only drive a greater and more lucrative black market economy that, predictably, will overburden law enforcement and re-fill prisons with a population of low-level lawbreakers for which The War on Drugs is reviled. The only sane and immediate answer to this urgent issue is for local parents and school boards to hire security personnel for school protection. The best-case outcome just happened at Great Mills High in Maryland. However well-meaning these marches, students would be better-served, and much more quickly, if they occurred locally for local solutions.
2
I am incredibly inspired by these young people. The generations before them have created an environment where school shootings happen on a regular basis, where shooting little children in their classroom isn't enough to enact change that would restrict guns. The generations before them have destroyed the environment. It is up to these teens to save the world, and I find myself believing that they can do it.
4
When liberals say they want to ban "assault weapons," they really mean they want to ban all guns, because there's no such thing as an assault weapon that sets it apart from any other firearm, including the hunting rifle you claim you don't want to ban.
4
Don't put words in other people's mouths to support your unfounded assertions.
4
most liberals I know tell me they want to ban semi-automatic guns. when I ask them if they realize every pistol is semi-automatic (meaning 1 trigger pull, 1 bullet) they look at me like I have 12 heads and tell me I'm wrong.
3
I think we can be smart enough to figure out a middle ground for what would work for hunters and for self-defense while keeping it safe for those of us who want our life and liberty to pursue happiness. as long as the gun clingers don't keep flinging your kind of rhetoric.
3
These young people are beyond impressive. This is their moment. They are articulate, strong, and intelligent. I am so hopeful that they will be the future voice of our country, and not those who are narrow-minded, and stuck in the past.
We have let you down in this country...but we're with you now! Stay strong, and keep up your fight - you are on the winning side of this argument.
62
in our HS, the school organized the walkout. so much for allowing the students the freedom to do it themselves and their way.
4
"They are the winning side of the argument"
But too often on the wrong side of the gun.
Hey Kids, We all hope that you win this thing and please be ready for the long haul. Elections are every two years and you have to make sure you young people vote. If you do not vote, we all lose. Please vote election after election. It might take 10 years but don't give up. Please vote.
14
May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you
May you always be courageous
Stand upright and be strong
And may you stay
Forever young
14
"Mr. Murphy...said he had urged the students to dig in for a long fight, on a historic scale — “like the Civil Rights movement or the anti-Vietnam War movement.”"
A silly observation with serious advice: When my young kids beat me in a battle of wills, it's because of that look in their eye - the absolute steely-eyed tenacity that says, "I've got nothing but time and this is the most important thing in the world to me -- you're in for it."
Use that youthful advantage to save our future!
10
Nowhere in this article is there any mention that these students understand that gun ownership is guaranteed in the bill of rights of the Constitution. It's not about politics, or adults failing anyone; it's one of the foundations of our society. When you speak out in opposition to it, you are also advocating against someone else's basic rights, not just something that a politician can sign away with a stroke of a pen. These marchers are doomed to disappointment if they can't, or choose not to try to understand these basic facts of our government.
4
David Godinez – the 2nd amendment is open to interpretation, particularly the part about being 'well-regulated', but it is NOT more important than the right of everyone to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
13
No where in the Constitution, or the Bill Of Rights, is gun ownership by private citizens guaranteed. The Second Amendment deals with the arming of militias.
7
David -- nowhere in the constitution is the ownership of semi-automatic weapons or weapons with detachable magazines guaranteed as a citizen's right.
At present, due to Heller, you have the right to a "handgun," in the home, for self-defense.
And as far as I know, Heller still doesn't have one in DC because they offered him a license for a revolver and he refused, demanding the semi-auto of his choice.
3
Mr. Melchior’s condescension and cynicism about young people voting and guns ignores the fact that this country’s enthusiasm for
firearms doesn’t extend to younger Americans, who tend to be more urban or suburban. I certainly hope they’ll bring a more moderating voice to the arguments about gun control—especially regarding assault weapons, which have no place in a civil society.
12
While the March is aimed at school gun violence. But for the thousands of kids killed in streets like Chicago, it's about closing Gun Shows and no background cks. that allow guns to flood into our Cities as well. There are gun manufacturers (Kahr in MA) that produce guns that are not stamped with tracking #'s. This has to stop as well! I'm marching tomorrow and it is for all gun violence and the means whereby weapons are sold, bought, etc. AR's and all guns! This country is totally OC (out of control). VOTE, REGISTER EVERYONE YOU CONTACT TO VOTE. Let's get this done.
15
Right on, KatieBear. My son and I are from Florida and will be marching in DC tomorrow, as well. The VOTE is what this all about. Legislators who put gun company businesses before the lives of American citizens need to go.
9
I agree with the no.1 poster, Bill Carmada. I feel that the last of the Greatest Generation are no longer the greatest.
3
I may actually attend two marches tomorrow. One in Middlebury and one in Rutland. These kids are going to change the world, okay, maybe just America. But I am behind you 1000%. JUST DO IT!
8
I find the comments on here suggesting this is some kind of liberal, adult conspiracy highly offensive. Give students their due - they are neither stupid nor disengaged like those in Congress.
The fact that teachers are allowing students to be involved is also appropriate. You could not engineer a better civics project to demonstrate democracy. Further, teachers have a strong interest in making schools safe as they both work there and are frequently targets.
Most teachers understand how insane the notion of making them quasi-security to police a school after the public has already delegated so many other parental responsibilities to them. Of course they want to keep guns out of schools and keep their students and themselves safe.
Shame on Congress for their cowardice in protecting the NRA and its campaign contributions over providing appropriate gun controls like every other CIVILIZED country in the world!
21
" why can’t I?” Indeed.
I plan to be joining her at Lincoln and Colfax in Denver's Capitol Hill and I was marching 50 years ago to stop the war.
When I saw the young man in the Oval Office trying to tell the so called president what it was like in Marjory Stoneman Douglas on that day he said something that should have turned every republican lackey of the NRA's heart cold. "I just turned 18" he would say referencing that now he could buy a weapon of war. The weapon he and his generation are going to use is the ballot.
"I just turned 18", did you hear that McConnell?
Ryan? t rump? Bryan (with a y) Melchior? Are you listening? Are you watching?
I lost two old friends the last couple of weeks. One due to old age. The other due to stupidity; he also calls these kids "confused" and stupid. I don't have room for stupid friends anymore.
7
Amazing kids. If I could offer just one piece of advice--the politicians are a joke; go to the NRA headquarters.
12
I hope it works out better for these young people than it did for us. Our dreams died when Reagan was elected. We've been watching the rise of the Republican Party with growing horror for most of our lives, and now live in dread for the future these young people will have to fix. I'll be marching with you at the age my grand mother was in 1964, when she marched with me.
7
You do know that the last assault weapons ban was introduced and signed by Reagan right?
It would be wonderful that this new generation were lucid enough to the take this country into an age of enlightenment. But their youthful enthusiasm will pass. Within a few years, their adolescence will be left behind, work, family and the insecurities of life will take their toll, and they too, alas, will fail, just as we failed. But in the meantime, I wish them the very best - we had our 1968, let them have their 2018.
1
We failed ? Looking at today vs 1968 I see among other things significantly improved rights for women, GLBTQ, minorities. I see a government that would no longer draft thousands of youths to serve as fodder in a far away questionable military adventure.
4
I am so impressed with these kids from Parkland. They have it right. Vote them out of office.
12
To the FL and all Marchers: Congress is indeed watching! While they many not do anything soon, keep pushing to change Congress till they do. Those who stand in the way have to go.
11
I’m 61 and have joined a few neighbors in my very red, very Trump community to march on Saturday. We can’t wait to support these young activists and believe change will come. #enough
21
Good for you, Ms Rosenberg. We live in a very red/Trump community as well in Florida. We will be Marching in Washington DC tomorrow. It is time our voices become as loud as,or louder than, the pro-assault weapon community.
9
"They face a political system that is historically resistant to major change ..." Yes, but if they persist they'll be successful just like my generation was in stopping the War in Vietnam.
Owning assault weapons makes as much sense as owning RPG's, grenades, 50 cal. machine guns, or tanks. Their primary design and function is to kill people, and their presence has been overwhelmingly obvious in the last several mass shootings. These high school kids can and will get that point across.
12
They’re going to be really disillusioned when nothing changes.
2
Nope. We’re going to vote all these legislators out who support gun manufacturers over the lives of citizens. These kids get it. It is the VOTE that counts— and we have them.
5
“It’s not going to change anything about our laws,” Mr. Melchior said of the march on Washington. “What I see is children that are just plain confused.”
How incredibly insulting! All of us - young, old and in-between, need to prove Mr. Melchior wrong. Because we're NOT confused. We're ANGRY.
24
you people are always angry about everything. you've become the boy who cried wolf.
2
“What I see is children that are just plain confused.” stated Bryan Melchior. That is precisely the sort of patronizing attitude that will inspire these young people. You want to make a teenager mad, call him/her a child and then go about your important "adult" business.
14
And the children shall lead. Good luck and God bless.
5
These kids are inspiring.
7
As you are marching, remind your fellow protesters to remember to vote!!!
That will be the REAL protest.
10
I've had a gun put to my head twice. And so I know a tiny bit of what these young people have experienced. I am so hopeful by hearing their smart, passionate voices.
16
Texting & driving kills 11 teens per day.
5
yes - but like other highway safety concerns we are working on that problem, while the NRA fights any reasonable effort to study or even thought about the problem of gun violence.
Stop with the straw men unless you are willing to have the same effort and expense put toward gun violence as we do for other public safety issues
14
So what? What's your point?
There's a big difference between someone recklessly killing themselves (which is the common outcome of texting and driving) and killing somebody else.
5
Stay on topic.
2
"Imagine", its really easy, if you try.
7
and? what's your point?
1
my reply was to someone else's comment about texting and driving. somehow it got attached to your comment which makes a very good point.
Thanks gun rights activist from Utah! This is definitely going to help rally even more sensible voters and soon-to-be voters behind necessary gun regulation. Keep talking...:
"“It’s not going to change anything about our laws,” Mr. Melchior said of the march on Washington. “What I see is children that are just plain confused.”
They don't sound at all confused to me.
17
Good luck to the students and you are in my prayers for a safe march. I feel it may be in vain with the NRA owning congress by fear tactics and showering the GOP with millions in campaign funds. I hope your march gets the automatic weapons and bullets banned from sale in the USA. Don't settle for less than that.
4
The future has always been with our children - now, more than ever. They shame the corrupt, greedy, spineless of DC and have only just begun to fight. Their parents are voting now; they will soon follow...
3
The right denies our cultural abuse gun sickness that results in 100k+ deaths/serious injuries in this country yr. after yr., an aberration re our peer countries.
However while the left sees the problem, they have no idea how to cure it. They look at regulation only as the magic panacea but deny inner city children killing each other at record rates with or without regs. and Hollywood feeding them a constant supply of grat., R rated gun violent media. You are more likely to see a youth from this area wear a T Shirt or a gansta rap star or Scarface than a MLK or Lincoln T Shirt.
Only till we realize that a program of legality, responsibility, regulation and non promotion of the gun like with did with cigs. is the answer, the cure will be illusive.
6
There are more Americans born in 2007 than any other year. You boomers have about 7 years left in power. Once those kids turn 18 and vote power will change hands. Trump will probably be dead or a vegetable by then too.
1
Please don't put all of us "boomers" in the same bucket with the Trumpers. Many of us are on your side and will be marching with you on Saturday. Don't forget, we were the generation that ended the War in Vietnam.
8
The Parkland kids that have started this new phase of a movement, together with Mothers Demand Action and Everytown, two groups that Mike Bloomberg has championed, become a powerful force for change. Apart from marching with them, one thing we can do to support them, is to join those groups. MDA groups are spreading like wildfire, showing up in town halls and legislative meetings, forcing common sense gun laws on the agenda. Together, these three groups will be a formidable antagonist to the NRA. Join up, peeps--all the best people are.
3
this generation of youth is no different than those who receded it: they are impatient. and, as always, that's a good thing.
actuarial science will always win: sooner or later, there will be more of them than the generations immediately preceding them.
but, patience accelerated the first steps in the long, still unfinished march to civil rights.
patience brought about the end of the vietnam war.
ah, to be young again. but, it is their time. let's hope for the wisdom to use it wisely. step aside. it is their time.
4
I am on my way to Washington to support them
8
GUN CONTROL NOW real backround checks. 21 to purchase guns no automatic weapons Ray Sipe
5
Please support the Georgia students ( especially the Cobb County students) who have been suspended because of their participation in the walkout!
Cobb County ( background oral history on Cobb: it was a notorious Sundown-County patrolled by the AngloSaxon Kobb KnightRiders terror group until the Civil Rights Era police reforms) has suspended student protestors.
Their punishment may be continued by being banned from school teams and clubs--- a disaster for working-class and minority students working toward college scholarships!
https://patch.com/georgia/atlanta/cobb-county-schools-ban-activities-fol...
Please call Cobb County School District and speak up for these students:
http://www.cobbk12.org/aboutccsd/contactus/
9
It is up to us adults to step up to the plate and help these brave students stay strong. There will be many disappointments ahead with a deaf and dumb government in DC. At the very least we can help them keep their dreams alive and help them to register to vote.
Trump appears determined to assemble a staff of old white privileged men who will no doubt ignore and scoff at these marchers. True they don't have money therefore power but they are a hint at what is coming.
So let's show support. March on Saturday and vote.
8
Push on relentlessly. You are the future of your country. Fix what those rocking-chair politicians refuse to mend.
6
I grew up as a teenager in the 60's. It was an extremely tumultuous time- Vietnam, racism, sexism, assassinations of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert Kennedy, along with the general mayhem of sex, drugs and rock n' roll - Woodstock comes to mind - while rebelling and demonstrating against "the establishment."
I am now part of that older generation and all I can say to the teenagers who will be demonstrating on Saturday...YOU GO! You are demonstrating for gun control that should have been in place years ago.
Just watch and be careful of people in the crowd who will start to get rowdy as agitators and above all, - please make sure you stay safe. With you in spirit!
14
I am not a registered dem, but ALL republicans OUT, in 2018. Period.
8
The rise of collective public protests against guns and gun violence is momentous. But the “do-nothing” Republicans of both houses are behaving like puppet lap-dogs to the NRA and they are all far removed from reality.
The reality is that all of the debates on the need to improve controls on guns and gun ownership are DEBATES ON THE MARGINS involving, for example, debates on mental illness, magazine size, etc. Any new legislation to strengthen gun controls will affect only new purchases of guns. Any such new legislation will leave the remaining guns already owned unaffected, grandfathered by earlier laws. Tinkering on the margins has not and never will work.
There are four core problems:
(1) The Second Amendment
(2) The NRA
(3) There are an estimated 357 million firearms !!! An estimated 31% of households, or one in three Americans own guns.
(4) The NRA enables gun violence by financially supporting Republicans in both houses. The fact remains that NOTHING has been done on the issue of gun related violence.
The solutions:
(1) The Second Amendment must be repealed.
The new law should be called: “The Innocents’ Law.”
(2) The charter of the NRA must be cancelled because it is a National Security and National Health risk adversely impacting all Americans.
Bring peace to America.
4
Who is bankrolling these kids gun control efforts? I keep reading about the efforts but the articles seem light on pertinent facts and high on congratulation.
1
Probably the people who are most invested in them: their parents.
It may seem odd that some people want to see these children live for more than simply being targets.
And let's not forget that they have demonstrated their own resourcefulness and and abilities to make things happen.
6
The spirits of the innocent victims that were murdered with semi-automatic weapons are "bankrolling" "these kids" with their lives that were taken with the NRA & Republicans assisting....
8
Let's keep our focus on the message.
You seem to imply that someone may have nefarious reasons for supporting these young people. What could that possibly be, and why is the side of gun regulation not worthy of support? The NRA certainly spends lots of $$$ to publicize their views.
3
You can be absolutely sure that every single one of these hundreds of thousands of students, and their millions of friends are going to vote. Oh yes they are.
5
This 65 year old geezer will proudly follow these students, marching with them in Raleigh, NC. I believe in them and what they can do that my generation has failed to do.
11
It's too bad that gun rights is the issue these youngsters are finally investing their energy into. Sure it's a problem, but it's nothing compared to pollution, poverty, homelessness, bullying, racism, corruption, public health, etc... Infinitely more of them will be affected by these other issues than wil ever be gunned down.
1
Don't worry Dave just as with gun rights there have been, and will continue to be, many corporate greed and privileged peoples rights advocates to fight them on pollution, poverty, homelessness, bullying, racism, corruption, public health, etc... just as they have been fight us on those issues.
1
They have just been directly affected!
5
Public/Mental Health - Govt want's rid of Obamacare with no alternative
Corruption - Look at Govt with Citizens United, gerrymandering, standing in the way of the people's right to vote and the entire Trump swampapalooza.
Columbine was twenty years ago what has been done to make schools safer with metal detectors and sensible Gun Control
NOTHING WAS/IS BEING DONE BY GOVERNMENT THAT IS MEANT TO PROTECT IT'S CITIZENS NOT BE BEHOLDENED TO THOSE WHO PROFIT FROM THE INACTION
Had grownups done their job and dealt with this issue sensibly and w/o fanaticism, the kids would not be taking up the cause.
2
I certainly hope all of us older people will be out in the street tomorrow. Not just writing notes of support in the Times. Especially in light of Trumps picking the mentally imbalanced trigger happy Bolton for national security advisor.
We need every rational voice there is to counter act American right wing insanity.
9
I will be there
2
They should march themselves back into the classroom. Are these excused absences? If a child wanted to miss a day of school to march for XXOOXXOO would that be excused?
1
The March is on Saturday. Maybe you should go back to school and learn about the days of the week.
11
This is it. This is so serious The torch will be passed this weekend to the next generation. Remember young ones, this country was born of revolution. This old man knee deep in old age will be marching with you, to support you, to encourage you, to respect you. As we said in the old days,
POWER TO THE PEOPLE!
RIGHT ON!!
111
But will they vote? In the past few elections only about 20% of the young people 18-29 voted.
I wish these many young and forward thinking Americans the best of luck in their quest to shape this nation into a better one for all. The current political system is clearly corrupt and unjust and it has failed all of us, particularly the young.
In the 2016 election old, white, fearful conservatives threw the young under the proverbial bus. If they don't stand up and demand justice for themselves it will never happen. Trust me, waiting for politicians to do the right thing is never, ever going to work out.
8
The first moment on March 14 has already flopped. What makes them think that the second will be any better. Also, isn’t it a bit early for the elections? They will certainly burn out before November. Most students have a notoriously short attention span and are generally indifferent to political woes of any party, Democratic or Republican.
1
This attitude reminded me of Morla to Atreyu when he asked for help:
"How can I get there?"
"You can't . It's ten thousand miles away."
"But that's so far."
"That's right. Forget it. Good night."
Yep - the old message. Just give up. Don't even try. It's not worth it.
2
I for one am tired of the gunsucks and the gunsplaining lies about the 2nd Amendment. The 2nd DOES NOT give them the right to military hardware. You cannot have a full auto-machine gun, or a hand grenade, or a bazooka, or a tank. Now we are going to make it that semi-auto assault rifles are in the same class. They cannot be sold, and they will be confiscated if found in public. We need to end these weapons, because the assault rifles ARE the problem. Ask the ER physicians who treated the wounded. As the 450+ in Las Vegas who were wounded but DID NOT DIE. Assault weapons can and must be banned. High-capacity magazines can and must be banned.
12
As someone who is not a gun owner, I find myself feeling quite worried at the students manifesto. One of the things they call for is for changing medical privacy laws so law enforcement can have access to mentally ill people and their gun ownership. “Change privacy laws to allow mental healthcare providers to communicate with law enforcement”
I fear if those laws get changed we will have very serious violations of our privacy. Privacy in the constitution is the foundation that gave women the right to choose, i.e. abortion. It will be the beginning of the end of women’s reproductive rights. Sometimes laws have unintended consequences.
Not to mention that if you suffer from depression, which millions do then law enforcement can have access to your medical records as can your employer etc....this is very dangerous indeed.
I think that is something I simply will never agree to nor should any American who values our constitution and the profound document that it is. Giving law enforcement those kinds of powers is unacceptable, especially in light of studies of how corrupt and abusive our police forces have become and how they lie and cover up their own criminal behavior.
Sorry but this is going too far for me.
3
These kids are our future. They are impressive and inspiring. I wish them good luck tomorrow and hope they'll be safe. In their idealism, they may not be fully aware of how dangerous it can be to take on institutions like the NRA and the federal government--especially this government, led as it is by an unbalanced and vindictive egomaniac. As we've already seen, there will be many attempts to discredit and shame them. I hope they're strong enough to face down their critics, and remain committed to their cause, which is so important. The country needs them.
11
Let us all stand together with these students. They have shown themselves to be the adults who know, what everyone really knows: that all of the mass shootings in schools and other public places in America have one common denominator; that death and injury are caused by GUNS. Guns do cause death. Guns do injure. And military type automatic weapons are designed to kill as many people as possible in the shortest time period. Assault weapons are not meant for sport or hunting (and should not be) All of the other factors like background checks and treatment of mental illness are important. But high capacity automatic weapons are the common killers that must be eliminated. Until high capacity assault weapons are gone from this country the NRA and all of the wimpy politicians who are afraid of the NRA and refuse to support real gun control should be considered accessories to every gun murder and sued until they no longer have the funds to run for office. There must be federal legislation because there are no border controls at state lines.
76
With all due respect to Senator Murphy of CT whom I greatly admire, I don't think these kids are "Impatient" at all. They just don't want to get their heads blown off while sitting in math class. For them "instant gratification" consists of surviving school. They are scared, angry and determined which is quite understandable considering they are fighting for their lives since the adults won't. I LOVE THESE KIDS. THEY ROCK. All my decades of marching in the Civil Rights Movement and Anti- War Movement has been worth it if it gave rise to these wonderful, powerful, smart, savvy kids who KNOW they have rights and how to fight for them. MLK would be proud. Protest and survive!
7
I will be marching tomorrow in solidarity. For my sign, I’m borrowing a line from Hamilton. “Tomorrow there’ll be more of us”
6
Young people often bring their parents into the fold. Nothing makes a parent more ashamed then their children standing up to do the right thing when the parents hold antiquated ideas that they have failed to re-examine. These students are more galvanizing then any other political force.
5
The 9mm handgun is generally regarded as an effective weapon; its bullet travels at 1,200 feet per second and delivers a kinetic energy of 400 foot pounds. By comparison, the standard AR-15 bullet travels at 3,251 feet per second and delivers 1300 foot pounds.
When AR-15 bullet hits the victim, it literally explodes inside the person. That is how guns are designed for military, not for hunters. Get the military grade weapons out of non-military gun owners or police.
13
I will not quibble with your numbers, but there is nothing inside a standard .223-inch caliber bullet to cause it to explode. There are many other non-AR-15 style rifles that use .223-inch caliber rounds. The speed of a bullet depends on the powder in the cartridge, the mass of the bullet and the length of the weapon's barrel. AR-15 style rifles add nothing to the rounds they fire.
1
Perhaps this means we should be talking about the ammunition, rather than the gun?
BlueNorth: The problem with this gun debate is that many who take positions have very little knowledge of firearms and/or the laws surrounding firearms. But I do not think the fault lies with the casual observers, but instead, lies mostly with "experts" who talk and write on the subject.
Back in February, an ex-colonel appeared on TV as an "expert" to call for a ban on AR-15's. The colonel said:(1) Machine guns have been banned since the 1930's. False. Civilians can own machine guns under the regime of the 1934 National Firearms Act and a May 1986 modification of that Act. (2) The colonel said an AR-15 can fire 45 rounds per minute. Nonsense. There is no intrinsic rate of fire for a semi-automatic firearm, the rate being dependent on how fast the shooter can pull the trigger. Further, even someone with arthritic fingers would be able to do better than 45 rounds per minute.
1
Maybe it's just me, I don't know. But I see all these young high school students being interviewed, not just from the high school in Florida that was brutally attacked, but from all over the country. Speaking off the cuff, they sound logical, intelligent, knowledgable, well informed on the subject of gun control and current gun legislation. And they all express themselves more clearly and concisely than our 70 year old President.
31
Bravo young people! Make professional politicians of all stripes a thing of the past.
6
Students, parents and the community at large should get up and get out to join with this march. We will gain two things from your participation. The first is the clear indication of support for better gun control and an end to these mass shootings. The second is the value of being politically involved. Walk out of schools and march down to the capitol and in November get into that polling booth.
8
"“What I see is children that are just plain confused.”
I do not have the experience, but I can imagine being shot at, having friends shot and bleeding and dying in front of you, can sharpen one's focus in an extraordinary way.
Columbine survivors say they have PTSD episodes even today. While they might be confused, I have little doubt what they feel. I just hope they vote, and turn out in really large numbers.
7
Kent State might not have been a reality if more people would have supported that generation.
We, in our 70's, now have another chance, there's a lot of us.
Show up.
15
The DC and other nationwide marches will be impressive. But trump will be in Mar-a-Lago and he won't care. Ditto with republican politicians who will now enjoy a two-week break after increasing the national deficit by another trillion dollars. But, if they want to get the results they want, THEY MUST VOTE. That is the only thing that will frighten the republicans into action. The loss of their precious majority may make them change course. VOTE BLUE in 2018.
11
Glad to see them march, but there is a problem with youth: They love to protest, but then they don't show up on election day.
24
That's where we adults have to assist them. And MANY college students got active when Bernie ran.
1
I'm betting these young people will show up to vote. This is different this time.
4
let's hope that finally changes now.
Has anyone suggested to them that by narrowing their focus they could accomplish much more? Say...by repealing 2A and allowing states to regulate firearms sensibly w/o a built in NRA veto? Curious.
1
Bless all the students in Chicago, Florida and everywhere. Be strong. Be brave. Speak loud and clear. I truly hope your goals are realized as soon as possible.
9
Evil triumphs when men (people) of good will do nothing. Free will and human nature incline some to do evil. Those who are not so inclined must speak and act, even if that is not their inclination. Silence can be both golden and deadly.
Let us move a little closer toward the good side of human nature. Just one more step on the journey to true equality.
4
What happened? We were the generation that was gong to end war and change the world. We were done with injustice. We wanted to see racism end. We wanted the country to fulfill the American dream of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all. Not just a few men. We were the younger generation who the old people looked on as hippies and flower children with our rock & roll. We knew that real change wouldn't happen until a good number of those older generation people were gone because their minds were fixed.
And 45 years later they are gone.
But here we are and today's youth is saying the same of us. We were the good guys, the heroes in the story. What happened?
Certainly some of us are still here. Some will be marching with our youth. Certainly not every one of our generation abandoned the hopes and dreams. Certainly we couldn't have been the first generation to believe that things would get better when the older generation passed on.
But as it has always has, the intolerant older generation had children too. They passed on their fear. They passed on their ideologies and dogma. Their children learned well. Don't look now but it is happening now too. The message to the younger generation is don't let them steal the country again wrapped in cynical flags. I thousand tiny, rational, individual and seemingly rational decisions can result in the giving over of the country to greed, fear, and corporate interests.
7
As a 66-year old I know this will be a long hard slog; my guess is that it will be harder than getting the US out of Viet Nam.
There was no equivalent of "gun culture" keeping us in Viet Nam.
6
Begs the question: if “emerging science about brain development suggests that most people don't reach full maturity until the age 25” (https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=141164708), when do we raise the voting age?
In the meantime, should childrens’ views shape ours frequently or only when it fits a progressive agenda?
2
Unfortunately we've all seen this before. Particularly after the Newtown school massacre in Connecticut. I think it's great for the kids to be involved in protesting for what they believe in. But whether this latest movement is any different than prior attempts at gun control remains to be seen. I mean if the massacre of little kindergarten kids and youngsters in CT didn't lead to a ban assault rifles then this movement is doomed to fail as well I'm afraid. But there's always hope...
22
I know-- I thought after Newtown there would be a change so it was extremely disappointing when nothing happened--- how could lawmakers look at pictures of those dead kindergarteners and not do ANYTHING; it was shameful. However, I am hopeful now because these kids are about to become adults and will soon vote.
1
I applaud their efforts. The elephant in the room here is the black market. Do these kids understand the proliferation of the illegal gun trade? Stricter background checks and requirements and banning assault weapons at gun shops are one thing but there are no gun shops in inner cities and yet the streets are flooded with guns. And many of these cities (like Chicago) have strict gun control laws.
1
As long as one can, in some states, just walk in to Walmart and purchase a gun, no city or state is truly safe. We in NY have pretty good gun laws. It is less than a day's drive to buy "legal" and drive back to NY. That is the very reason we need national gun laws. The black market is being supplied with legally purchased weapons.
To these inspiring kids: Please keep it up. And please don't stop when you encounter resistance, when things don't go your way. There WILL be disappointments and setbacks that will tempt you to become discouraged and cynical. Take courage and persevere! And never fail to vote!
3
Where are the moderate kids?
2
One side is shot, the other not shot. What is the moderate position?
3
Their Grandparents disappeared in Vietnam.
Teenagers are not known to be moderate
Hopefully these students won't be bamboozled by the false equivalency nonsense promoted by the media, and with solidarity, intent and determination, vote blue, vote Democratic, from the courthouse to the White House. And if not that, to NOT vote for Republican NRA/Koch Brothers owned puppets, charlatans, crooks, liars, bigots, racists, homophobic psychos, xenophobes, misogynists, and now, in 2016, traitors, who knowingly elected and to this moment support and enable a malignant narcissist, an unstable sociopath, a vulgar know-nothing as President of the United States. Republicans are Trump, Trump is the Republican Party, a party that has no soul, no conscience and no shame, is guided solely by greed and money, and sows chaos and division in our society in order to exploit it to get elected; a party that cares only for the wealthy and has only contempt for people who aren't, which is 98% of this country. The situation is urgent: Democrats have many flaws, but at least they purport to represent the people they say they represent, and are amenable to reason, which Republicans have abandoned in favor of a queasy cult of Ayn Rand ideology, neo-fascism, faux Christianity, conspiracies, and a blatant appeal to bigotry, racism and hatred. They have yet to pay for involving us in a ruinous war, and ransacking our economy in 2008. They need to be banished from American political life, and unlike in 2008, punished for their crimes against American democracy and the American people.
4
Help,somebody help us!!!
2
Don’t wait for help; DO SOMETHING
2
These kids know no help is coming. Especially from adults.
They take control of their own situation or get shot.
2
November Is Coming.
#BlueWave2018
15
So proud to be a part of the coming march. I marched against Vietnam War and Nixon and we won. It is harder now because of Citizens United and PAC $; the NRA, and a seizure of the government by a minority. I weep for the failure of democracy that greets my high school age grandsons. We can do better. Stop trying to convince old white bigots that you're right.
TAKE TO THE STREETS WITH THESE YOUNG ACTIVISTS. We can yet again prevail over tyranny.
17
Vote!
9
Even though I am not a teenager. . . I too, am against 'Gun-Violence' !!
(I am also against Hurricanes, Nor'easters, and certainly- Tornadoes!)
3
You look at past generations and think they must have been out of their minds: slavery, holocausts... after uselessly wasting millions of lives, the perps eventually die anyway.
It only takes a moment to destroy your own life, or that of an entire generation.
How crazy will they think WE were--guns, wasting the environment...
5
It that photo caption correct? Are those student activists appearing at a rally against gun control? If so, I’m interested in how they got access
1
Read the correction at the bottom of the article.
TO Congress & all State Representatives: NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF A KID!
19
"Progressive" Teachers (D) are brainwashing and organizing our kids. Sad!
6
"Progressive teachers" aren't
1
"Progressive teachers" aren't brainwashing or kids....being a target is... and good for them, they are doing what we can't seem to get done and I will march with them tomorrow in support! We reasonable and sane gun laws!
3
"Regressive" teachers (R) teach that the world is 6000 years old, and delete critical thinking from their curriculum (see TX).
"Progressive" Teachers (D) teach critical thinking and real science – that's scary to some folks. Can't have the young'ns thinking for themselves now, can we.
2
None of them, and none of the NY Times readership, believes that there is any right to keep and bear arms. They don't want to reduce crime, they merely want to disarm the population.
7
This gun nut thinking is so 2017. You can keep your little guns, little guy, because we don't want you scared of dust mites. You do NOT get to keep military weapons like AR-15s. That time is done.
2
And your evidence for your claims is.....?
Jon...
How do you know? Did you talk to them...and with NYT readers?
Or are you making an assumption in line with your prejudices?
2
The students will be marching in DC, and I, as devout supporter of gun rights, will be there to observe and to intervene on the side of the students, if I see other gun rights supporters attempting to silence the marchers or to harass them.
Certainly, I stand with the students on their right to march, but I disagree with their message, if my assumption, that it is a gun control message, is correct.
4
You can't have it both ways.
If you want to flood American cities with guns, you have to accept that dangerous weapons will fall into the wrong hands and innocent people will be killed. FOX calls that " the price of freedom" - 30,000 per year! I know you're not OK with that!
Better screening methods and counseling won't work. Check the facts: most mass-murderers have no prior records and fit the description of "normal" citizens. Thanks to the NRA and people who support them, more than 300,000,000 guns have flooded our streets. It just takes a tiny fraction to cause mayhem, death, and life-altering injuries.
I can't imagine any sensible person - from the Founding Fathers to you & me - would be proud of that vision for America!
1
RichR:
Every single American would like to see an end to all violence. In the case of gun violence, what measures do you propose to dramatically reduce firearm violence without placing undue burdens on the ability of citizens to exercise a constitutional right? If you are thinking of bans, and before you answer, please understand that banning one class of firearms will only cause a shift to another firearm type identical in capabilities, but just looks different.
1
My 15 year old daughter is headed on a 10 hour bus ride to DC from Massachusetts. She is carrying a sign that say "We are STUDENTS, no TARGETS".
I am proud of her for taking the initiative to be active.
The last thing I said to her was "Be Safe", because the reality is half of me doesn't want to send her out into potential danger.
But enough is enough, and it takes courage, from all of us, to make a change. We all need to stand up and say we should not fear sending our children to school, or to our Nation's Capital to stand up for what is right.
Let the movement that our children have sparked be our inspiration for gun law change.
50
i hope the young in our country can do what adults have failed to do. Bravo to our smart young adults who are wiser than many adults.
1
Reality check think agun about school safty are government runs 70 billion profit from state lotterys Another 30 percent in revenue from income tax placed on winning. 100 billion in income that supposely goes toward schools an education. Kids should be very concern to find out how little of money is spent on protecting there lives zero. Washington does call shots but we do this case .Little demstration of past events will get are presidents attention . Remember history does repeat its self when are for fathers dump an burned the tea in boston tea party . From that point world would never be same is true today .Kids can do alot by just choosing to say no more anoth is anoth. Means going with out cell phones made in china . Means they will have to learn how to use hands to make what they need. Are for mothers an fathers gave us this world its up to us to make sure we leave it same or better then what we received.
that this is a organic movement is doubtful.. as are the chances these kids get educated beyond leftist politics
2
How sad for you Lane!!!!!
1
Leftist? What's wrong with demanding a cease fire in school?
1
Pray tell, exactly what is "leftist" about their desire to live?
1
Heading to Logan to catch my flight to DC. I can’t wait to meet these kids, and to apologize for not proactively doing more to block the republican agenda of hijacking their futures.
36
Vote in every election - every time. The National ones, the little local ones.....never miss an opportunity to vote - because if you do your legislators will grow callous and think you don’t care and then they will satisfy their donors because that is the only people they hear from.
Let them her you roar
Let them see you at the ballot box
Be loud and be present.
38
These kids have more guts than most of the people I know! Woo hoo. So proud of you all
30
Every Congressman should be ashamed they are letting high school kids do the work they should have done....over the dead bodies of their own classmates. The great majority of citizens believe there should be rules that prevent our school children from being gunned down.
And we adults should feel ashamed that we have elected men and women who are cowards....publicly telling us they are beholden to their donors while betraying their oaths of loyalty to this nation. We should not accept a voting system that IS rigged.
(Those PA state legislators who are attempting to impeach their judges....because they overturned a gerrymandered voting system that denied half the state representation by their vote....they should be voted out immediately.)
58
Dont blame are representives they only represent us deploarables . Awaking too late this secound attemp of freedom will end as was first roman empire. Rome wasnt concured it fell in ruins because its people became coruppted . Its great armys who concured most of civilized world fell to disease disbanded. Remeber lesson in history repeats its self.
Dear Ms. Turkewitz, Mr. Burns and the NYT leaders,
Can we all please StoP calling it gun control (the favored term of the NRA and its zealots) and start calling it what it is: gun violence prevention and gun safety. The term "gun control" feeds into the NRA's narrative that "they are coming to take your guns." The term allows the NRA and its minions to control the discussion.
Words do matter and this is one of the simplest ways that we can help these young people.
I wish these young people a great turnout. Success would be to see politicians actually Do Something. Now.
#NeverMore #SaveOurSchoolsSaveOurKids #EnoughisEnough
42
Great point.
Here's another phony description: Pro-Choice and Pro-Life
The correct term should say: Pro-Choice and No-Choice
3
Amazing to see the young taking the lead on the issue of gun control. A saying in Greece “You learn the hard truths from either children or from the crazy people”. Let common sense prevail!
13
"Still, for all their fierce energy, these liberal-leaning activists..." Freedom House defines the United States - as it does many other countries - as a "liberal democracy." How about calling these young people "American" activists?
14
I’ll be there Saturday AM ‘til 2 PM in DC.
10
Almost 70, from Wisconsin, a woman, mother, grandmother - I am in DC with my daughter and grandson, and I will march for my grandkids and everyone else’s grandkids too.
I see around me lots and lots of innocent, energetic, smart, diverse kids.
Yet, I have heard some fears. Of what? One or more than one gunman somewhere in the crowd! A fear that should never be felt in this United States of America!
What kind of country is it that it takes innocent kids trying to make a wake up call to “leaders” and legislators to protect them? What kind of country is it that allows the money and power of a gun organization, the NRA, paying off lawmakers, to shorten the innocent lives of our youth? What kind of country is it that has a president who has no idea or desire to reign in those powers to just sanely and humanely protect the future of our generations - our youth?
Kids, we love you. Many of us stand with you. We understand you. We are here for you, us grandparents and so many others, who give you our lives. We will call our Congressmen and women. We will speak for you. We will march for you. And we will vote for you.
See you tomorrow, kids. We love you. Never give up and never give in. March tomorrow and keep on marching. And we’ll be right alongside you trying to make you safe. You are precious!
36
It's the students march but there will be plenty of white hairs to be seen (including mine), so Republican's better get out their abacus. This has reached a tipping point. Congress can outlaw private ownership of weapons of mass destruction..aka AK-15...and implements such as silencers which are not protected by the 2nd amendment as technically they are not guns..aka..arms. They can't remove the 2nd but there are plenty of loop holes to control the maniacs and still allow for self defense.
15
Exactly!
March if you must!! I respect and admire you. But get out and vote as soon as you are eligible and drag your friends and parents and grandparents with you.
33
Yes, vote as soon as you are eligible, and be sure to vote in EVERY election. And strive to stay informed on all issues.
3
Speaking as a 53 year old white male, living in a red state, I fully support these students 100%! Follow through and vote out the Republicans who enable don trump every single day.
47
Young people mobilized for the Occupy Movement and the Hands Up, Don't Shoot Movement. Demonstrators had difficulty coordinating their protests because they all had earplugs in their ears and were playing video games as they marched. But they were well-fed -- their mothers had baked cookies so they could keep up their protest energy.
2
Paul Ryan said he would only take the speakers job if he did not have to work weekends so he could spend time at home with his family. So will he spend Saturday marching with his children in Wisconsin???. I doubt it
5
They should start with their local school board and municipal elections. Sadly, their enthusiasm will wane in favor of a few hrs of Xbox.
Their a generation of iPads, iPhone, and texting junkies. After the presidential election, the needed safe zones. This is what our ultralight liberal educational system has produced #spoiledliberal.
It's important to note that there are minority-led organizations that have been fighting against gun violence for some time. It's important to note that of the millennials, blacks are the most likely to vote and are, relatively, the most politically engaged. It's important to understand that the movement against gun violence didn't start with white teens in Florida, but with brown and black faces in cities all across the country. Again and again the narrative is rewritten. Nytimes I blame you. When black youth of Chicago protest shootings, where are you?
10
Rather than resentful blaming, it is time to unite to stop the NRA and their mass-shooting murderous agenda.
Marching on Saturday. So proud of these students and I will help them register voters to #VoteThemOut.
9
We have met the future and it is them.
10
And we're proud!
We will be marching with you in Boston and continue to work with you long after the March to make sure that gun safety in America is addressed. Thank you for using the tragedies of school shootings to force this upon us. Hard to believe it takes students to make Congress to see that safe schools are a fundamental right of American children. Thank you and march on!!!!
5
These young people have mighty allies. The Prophet Isaiah urged his people to "beat their swords into plowshares," and the time is at hand to act. I grew up in the racially segregated South where all institutions of government was controlled by white men. Voting required a stupidly evil literacy test as a precondition. Dr. King and the SCLC was a breath of fresh air. Armed only with passion and relentless non-violent action, the walls of evil government began to crumble. The Vietnam War protests ultimately ended our tragic involvement. These victories came at a bloody price with beatings, mass arrests and assassinations. Now, America is smothered by the lineal descendants of the old order who fostered evil governance. Changes won't come easy. These tyrants will not cede their stranglehold on America without a fight. As a septugenerian now stirred to action, I intend to march with these visionary young people. It's worth the time and effort. I feel some change in the air.
4
Yay. Yes, let’s follow the children. They are so much smarter than we are. Great idea!
4
A majority of ADULTS in the US agree with these kids.
1
Not smarter.
More desperate. More afraid. More motivated. Less beaten down. Like their slogan says, they are marching for their lives.
1
This adult counter-protester Melchior said, " What I see is children that are just plain confused.”
Mr Melchior should look in the mirror to see who is confused.
8
"“It’s not going to change anything about our laws,” Mr. Melchior said of the march on Washington. “What I see is children that are just plain confused.”"
Mr. Melchoir, and all those like him, seriously underestimate what is happening among millennial and younger voters. We're tired. Tired of your wars, tired of your politics of exclusion, tired of your greed, tired of your hypocrisy, tired of your politics of fear. We are not confused, we're fed up, motivated, and getting organized. Lead, follow, or get out of our way.
25
Latin America has very strict gun laws and very high crime. The citizens are defenseless against corrupt governments and gangs. Bad guys don't obey the rules and they wouldn't here either. Do you really want to cede control of your city to gangs and criminals, and be defenseless to defend your family?
3
"March for Our Lives" is obviously well funded. In the interest of credible news analysis, how about finding out where that funding comes from.
4
My question, too. Who’s paying for this?
Funding is fairly transparent. GoFundMe. Money from many small donors. Money from Oprah, the Clooneys,(1/2 mil each) and others. It has been reported many times elsewhere.
1
It comes from Michael Bloomberg (BILLIONAIRE) and his very well-funded "Every Town For Gun Safety" which has done all the organizing and fundraising to send the duped teenagers to do their bidding.
Their goal is to ban and confiscate all firearms ("just like Australia").
1
Every school in America is at risk from an NRA inspired lunatic.
In addition to banning/limiting the sale of guns as a best line of defense, schools need to fortify using common sense methods, not including arming teachers.
These kids are fantastic. They will be voting their interests, rightly so. If anyone stands in their way, they will join the NRA in the dust bin of history.
2
This senior citizen stands with you. You inspire me. Years of attempting to keep the light of justice shining is manifested in your actions. Keep up the work - "the arc of the universe is long, but it leans towards justice." Your labors will not be in vain.
16
Mr. Melchior is wishful thinking. These students are not going to give up. All you have to do to is tell a teenager they can’t accomplish their goals and they will defy you. Ask any parent of a teenager. These students are in it for the long haul.
Now is the time to have a voter registration drive. This is where teachers could be very help. Especially History teachers. Instead of learning how to fire a gun, perhaps the teachers could organize a voter registration Drive in the cafeteria of every school in the country. And on Election Day perhaps some non partisan organizations can hire buses to drive these kids to the polls.
Then Congress would sit up and take notice and do their work to
Protect all of our citizens, especially the children.
Shame on Congress and the Trump Administration for it’s complicit conduct towards the gun lobby’s continuous lying about why Gun Reform is not necessary. They need to take their blinded off
Kudos to every student trying to change our country and what we stand for. Or used to stand for.
15
It is absolutely disgusting to see teachers pushing the liberal ideology onto students of all agents. Some of the teachers even took toddlers by the hand and walked them outside to demonstrate. From PC, trigger words, safe space to lists of words that you can't say on campus it is most disturbing.
2
Maybe this is the first sign of a coming backlash against unbridled Trumpism. I hope so: the Presidentis in the pocket of the NRA, and is prone to making wild promises and even wilder threats. in this moment of crisis, when Trump is out of control and assembling a war cabinet to begin a distraction war so that[he hopes] people won't notice the chaos in the White House as Mueller gets ever closer... these young people are literally the only hope that America has for the future.
The politicians of every stripe are utterly compromised, for sale to the highest bidder, purely self-interested, indifferent to the people's needs. The bravery and idealism of these young people is pitted against the cynical and weary hopelessness of Washington. Who will win?
6
Few days ago there was a news, a very common ones that we see far too frequently- "A 9-year-old wanted a video game controller from his sister — so he shot her".
Now it seems that Trump, his donors in NRA and leaders in Republican party would suggest giving guns to all children so that they can protect themselves and/or recruiting armed guards in our homes. Greatest, brightest and Brilliantest idea- like almost any idea from these 'stable geniuses'.
In fact mass shooting is very low among all gun related death in the US. Most death are due to suicide and such homicide, mostly due to sudden or temporary outburst of anger, frustration and accident.
In 2014, out of 33,594 gun related death, only 14 died in such mass shootings. Most deaths were by suicide using a gun- 21,386. Then 11,008 homicide (killing other people with a gun), other - 1200 (this include accidental shooting killing people).
3
It is certainly worth remembering that the measures these students (and others) are pushing for will, if accomplished, not only help to protect students in schools, but also everyone else, wherever we are.
My generation was defined politically by the anti-war movement, when we protested the senseless waste of American and Vietnamese lives. Shame on us for making our grandchildren have to take to the streets to keep from being slaughtered in their schools because we didn’t have the courage or the good sense to enact reasonable gun control.
14
Today's teens seem to be more mature than we adults. They are not jaded, and they see things, events, and people with clearer eyes and perspectives. Just looking at this Trump administration, Congress, and us, the people who voted for these disrupting amoral fools, we as parents perhaps may have been a bit remiss in our responsibility to guide and nurture a sense of ethics and accountability toward others. In a sense, many of these young people, but for the grace of God, have raised themselves to be compassionate, caring, and protective toward their fellow human beings.
I wish them all the luck in the world. They are America's future. I will support them...they who are now teaching and mentoring those of us who should have known better. One final plea: If you are eighteen by election day, we need your votes!
6
Marching is great and thank you. But the afterglow will dissipate quickly. Vote, vote, vote the minute you can and every time you can. We just had our primary election here in Illinois and voter turnout was low. Again. Unbelievable.
6
These kids are not “confused.” Stop patronizing them. They know EXACTLY what they want and expect of our country. If this country doesn’t take them seriously and heed their warnings, plan on a progressive, Democratic-led Congress in November.
We progressive, older adults far outnumber those who want their guns torn from their cold, clenched fists. And, along with this new generation of courageous young adults, we will!
8
Are you volunteering to go out and confiscate? Or are you going to be sitting on your couch expecting the mostly conservative men who make up the military and law enforcement to do your dirty work for you?
1
Interesting article. Tells the story the NY times wants to tell about guns. Interview some high school students in Casper, Wyoming, Provo, Utah, Rural , Pennsylvania, Fort Worth Texas, Berea, Kentucky. I would suggest their votes matter just as much and they support 2nd amendment rights. If the Florida school shooting did one thing it: reinforced distrust in govt, its ability to protect us, solve problems or apply laws already existing effectively. Giving up constitutional rights to protect yourself from criminals and the very government itself is not the answer. Seems the internet is dangerous, gets people killed, worries us about Russian invasion but we are not voting out 1st amendment rights either. Young people should vote more, work more, do more but all thinking the same as the NY times and news organizations championing gun control is likely not the only result we will see.
2
Confused -- tell me where there is a constitutional right to a semi-automatic weapon? Tell me where there is a right to gun with exchangeable magazines?
1
Supporting 2nd Amendment rights does NOT mean opposing sane gun regulations. Even a majority of NRA members support sane gun controls. If these rural students oppose all gun regulation because they mistakenly think that is what supporting the 2nd Amendment requires, it is because they have been brain-washed by right-wing gun humpers, Fox news lackeys, the NRA leadership, and politicians who are controlled by the NRA.
1
‘“It’s still rigged and they’re still going to do what they want,” Mr. Blake said of elected officials.’
Then why are you going to Washington? ...I know he’s just a kid, but this attitude is so self-defeating. It’s also broadly representative of (would-be) Democrats. Unlike our Republican counterparts, our base just doesn’t vote. 2016 was the most important election in modern US history, and, though younger people and members from vulnerable communities were (all too) eager to grandstand at Hillary and Bernie rallies, they couldn’t be bothered to do the one thing that mattered the most: vote.
It will be no great surprise to anyone given the way this administration is staffed Mgr up if this generation of young people also finds itself hostage to one or more feckless wars and possibly even a re-established draft process to support those wars. If that does happen I have no doubt they will be a major force of resistance along with their young brothers in arms. Those who do not remember their past are doomed to repeat it. To me it seems we are repeating the worst of our collective history now.
We must all support these kids in any way we can. They will help us get a political system which actually works. The march is the beginning of a great naional movement to live with truth and honor in politics. You go kids!
1
Having marched in many anti-Vietnam war campaigns in the 60s and early 70s, I am more than proud of these kids -- and somewhat ashamed that my generation allowed this president and his ilk to grab hold of the country. These young people are rightly declaring that hope, courage, and resolve are the ways to respond to Trump and the NRA -- and my own hope is that resilience will be their wings. They will face all kinds of negativity -- let us all support them in any way we can. My wife and I will be marching ourselves. May we all regain some faith in our country through this generation's belief that all is not lost, including more and more lives to gun violence.
6
I look forward to the day, not two or three years away, when a significant portion of these activist students vote in USA elections and dump every politician who refuses to make meaningful reform to the USA obsession with assault weapons.
2
Good for them! I'm with them! When I see this I feel better about my country.
2
I'm so very proud of you young people for standing your grounds, and demanding a sensible gun control. Make sure you stay focused, and organized, and remember that many of you can vote this election and can make a difference.
3
I will be surprised if these kids change anything. For one thing, it's very hard to accomplish anything at city hall. For example, In spite of numerous city bankruptcies, most states and cities have only passed the most lightweight pension reforms, if any reforms at all.
Millenials have a tendency to fall into their own bear traps. They may have helped the gun industry by picketing to support their K-12 teachers. Teacher pension funds invest in gunmakers as well as armament makers like Boeing, Lockheed-Martin, and Raytheon. Do these protestors think that public pension funds should divest from defense contractors?
The protestors are making the same mistake as the womens' marches--they are adding a lot of pork to their protests so it's hard to know exactly what they are protesting against. Is it just gun laws, or is it also school budget cuts, inequality, school closings, Trump, and capitalism? Do half of you guys really prefer socialism?
2
In addition to demonstrating against gun violence, the young activists who are too young to vote need to get their parents to vote against gun violence.
2
Go kids go! As a 72 year old grandmother of three American teenagers, and in solidarity with your movement , I plan to march tomorrow in Barcelona in a demonstration organized by a local chapter of Democrats Abroad. Power to the people!
4
These children are the difference like no other. One comment that resonated on the airwaves was the student that pounded the point home that our politicians get their paychecks from US. We they people are the paycheck...and THEY work for US. It is a google away how many campaings are funded by the NRA.
It is the passion and the savvy of the young people that I am seeing that takes us to the original gateway of this great country. That we are a Govenrment of the people, for the people, and by the people.
We need to be aware that we are also a government bought by the NRA and the Energy Companeis and the Pharmacutical companies, and these children are armed with the knowledge of their battle ahead.
So, the men in the silk suits and briefcases are against the kids in blue jeans and back packs. While the silk suits put out a ton of money to campaigns, our children are putting a ton of heart into their lives moving forward.
The stakes are high and those kids deserve the support that they are receiving in the form of donations from famous factions (i.e. George Clooney) God Bless everyone of them, and blessings in abundance for the grieving families who have lost children. It should happen to know one.
And for the second amendment thumpers. NO ONE IS taking away your candy. You are guaranteed your second amendment rights by the constitution. Our children are also guaranteed by the constitution for life...liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
3
What I see is children that are just plain confused.” - Bryan Melchior, 45, a Utah gun-rights activist
First, if you have an Amendment of the US Constitution that has been liberally, yes liberally, defined as all guns to all people without regard to half the amendment than what is the need for "guns rights" or an "activist"?
Second, I find this to be a completely odious and dismissive statement and especially toward those who have lived through the carnage that others and who have been the targets. They aren't confused at all. They want to LIVE, as we all do. We want to LIVE. We don't want the government aiding and abetting those who would gladly use us as targets for their ideologies, rage, anger, and revenge. Much if testosterone driven if we are being truthful.
6
Will adults listen? Or will we all suffer again? God speed to those are standing up and lending their voices to the tragedy that has taken over our nation.
2
Demographics alone should solve this mess if we can just survive a few more years. The most likely group to vote for Trump is going to be dying off over the next 4 to 8 years (old white people), while young people who largely abhor Trump and his reactionary ideas are coming of voting age. That should swing about 7 million voters in the other direction. Many states will come to look more like California when the votes are counted.
2
Very disappointing to read a characterization of "liberal-leaning activists" equated to going to school without threat of gun-related violence. Isn't it a human concern to live without fear of violence?
1
Well done young America. The World and the future are with you!
2
I am so proud that my almost 14 year old daughter will have an opportunity to March with several classmates and kids from around the country in Washington, D.C. this weekend. Late last month Stoneman Douglas junior Florence Yared stood in front of the Florida State Capitol late last month and said, “You adults have failed us by not creating a safer place for your children to go to school. So we, the next generation, will not fail our own kids. We will make this change happen. If not today, then tomorrow" March and protest until real, substantive and everlasting change happens. Good luck kids, our country needs some real leadership at this time. March and protest.
145
I so hope that the kids in Tennessee are recognized during their marches tomorrow. These kids living in Red/Gun State are standing up as well. They've walked out, they've marched and they're marching tomorrow. GO TENNESSEE KIDS! While the Nat'l Press may not see you, you are very brave and right to march. I'm going to be with you in Knoxville at the UT Campus. We've got your backs.
2
Saturday’s student marchers in Washington, DC and in other cities and towns across our nation should be applauded and encouraged for taking action to help change the discussion about student and school safety.
Growing up in the 60s it was frightening and unsettling when as elementary school students we had to practice air raid drills and take shelter under our desks and in the school basement because of the threat of a nuclear attack from the Russians or from their base in Cuba. And as unsettling as that was for us kids it’s nothing compared to the killing and carnage that today’s kids have witnessed firsthand or seen time and time again in other schools on TV.
Our children are our nation’s future and our most precious resource. We must protect them. We need to have the experts devise real school safety plans and immediately fund and implement them. And we must enact federal and state legislation that limit the type of guns sold and the process to own them.
Doing nothing is simply not an option.
2
My wife and I will be marching in Orlando on Saturday, perhaps more like shuffling at our age. But maybe it's age that puts the skeptical voice in the back of my mind. Who has the money, the good lawyers and PR people and media networks and experience in exploiting tragedy? And who has an army of single-issue voters that actually vote, whatever the election, whatever the season or weather?
Money is the keystone. The Supreme Court ruled that money equals speech, so those with the most money have the most influence. I see the NRA as a money-centered lobby. The gun manufacturers, comically called "corporate partners" by the NRA, fund the organization to the tune of millions each year. In return, the NRA constructs tales of big government and other sinister actors planning to confiscate everyone's guns. And fear boosts gun sales. The cycle of gun purchasers' money going to gun makers, then going to the NRA, keeps on chugging like an engine. As insurance (and I feel this is the term the NRA leaders use privately), some of the proceeds are funneled into buying politicians, from Congress all the way down through state governments and local offices.
The young students disgust of the status quo has merit, but targeting the politicians and not their patrons and financiers, the more critical links in this ugly chain, I think misses the mark. So long as money equals speech and corporations are people, we can't have a decent and sensible consideration of any social issue.
2
Every revolution has begun with the young and unafraid. Kudos to our young, for doing what most of us think.
I walked up to the local high school during the 17 min. walk out to show my support for the students, as did other local residents. The teen speakers there were passionate, articulate and motivated, like other high schoolers around the country. Saturday my high school friends and I, now in our 60's, will participate in our city's march.
Enough, we want our country back and a future free of gun violence for our youth!!
2
Which organizations are funding the march? Or are individual students paying for transportation to Washington and lodging there themselves?
High school kids are ever more savvy than they have been given credit. We have a whole generation of youth who will be voting in just a few short years or sooner, and Parkland and other violence against young people has become a defining factor in their experience of the world as of late. They will be voting with that terrible formative element deep in their conscience and they will vote accordingly. If elected leaders will not lead on such a critical issue which has a groundswell of broad support, they will lose that privilege. In the coming years, these young citizens will make sure of it, seat by seat.
2
All this talk, but nothing about the root cause of all the violence in today's society - parents not accepting responsibility for raising their children to adulthood. Unless this is fixed, things are not going to get any better.
Lord we need them and we need them now. We , at one time were considered the greatest country in the history of the world but that’s all past. So many problems now afflict us, from greedy politicos, behind the scene puppet-masters like the Koch brothers, the disparity of wealth, inbred racism, a for profit prison system, disparity in health care because we don’t have universal healthcare ( the only industrialized country in the world that can say this), the complete loss of spirituality- which has led to an opioid crises that kills more American in one year than the entire Vietnam War did in its entirety. Almost everything about our country would rank last in comparison to every other industrialized nation In the world. There isn’t a person in Sweden or Switzerland, etc who would trade their system of government for ours. We seem on our way to almost Soviet Union style depressive hopelessness, the feeling that nothing can ever change for the better. In the 1960s we had inspirational leaders like Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, bullets took them away from us, wouldn’t it be ironic that in another way, in a tragic way bullets brought back that inspiration to be better, to be driven by something more then money and material things but by the belief that we can be more than what we are, that we can actually “ make America great again” for real. I wish them well, fate has awakened these young people. In youth there is hope, Godspeed. Make a difference.
1
I'm so proud of these students and so grateful to them.
Way to go Republicans, you've lost even more voters.
1
It's certainly about guns, and without exception this should be the overriding focus of this moment, but for this generation it's also about many other pressing issues - social justice, education reform, limited economic growth, climate change, infrastructure needs. These too need to be a future and ongoing focus for this upcoming generation, and they will only fester and be ignored if the GOP and its massive lobbyist support continues without counter measures - the most important one being a person's vote.
4
There is only one thing that will make a substantial, lasting difference, not just in the availability of weapons but, more importantly, in the cultural polarization and consequential political dysfunction that is crippling our country.
America has failed to teach civics and history to its own kids, while coddling them in self-defeating identity politics, Left and Right. A generation deeply concerned with "micro-aggressions" would not survive a Kent State. As well, America has failed to provide a positive, collective vision like the Apollo Program, instead leaving people to define their commonalities through not-this or not-that.
Enter current high school students: as with the Viet Nam War and Civil Rights in the 60s and 70s, it will take a generation of young people to Just Say No! They are the ones with the energy, focus, and creativity to organize boycotts, take to the streets, engage in civil disobedience, and whatever else they deem necessary. After all, they are the ones who will live with the consequences of what they choose to do or not do.
The most positive thing I have heard about recently is the call by high school students for a national day of protest to demonstrate that unless things change, there will be no business as usual. If they do this and continue on the road to determining the nation they and their children will live in, they will be criticized, bribed, threatened, and worse, but that's the way life is. Remember Kent State. There is no free lunch.
1
Go Go Go!
The call for gun control peaks after every mass shooting and something should be done to stop this particular form of violence. But this is a small part of the death by gun problem and at the moment the March for Our Lives and the students behind it have pushed the news-worthiness past the usual 2 weeks.
Over 30,000 lives are ended by guns every year. Around one third are suicides, one fifth are young men in homicides,and 1700 women are killed in domestic violence.
We can identify the roots of these as social and mental health problems . To create a solution will require changes in our thinking on our civic duties . This has not been a subject for discussion as we talk about our rights and are more concerned with keeping our tax bills low.
I march with them in Geneva Switzerland.
1
These kids are speaking truth to power, and the truth is having a tremendous impact. They are not self-censoring their own messages to gain the acceptance of those who are perceived to be in control of wealth or media or the conventional wisdom. It is such an obvious question: which do you value more, your children or your guns?
Hopefully, we will all learn from their example of speaking the truth.
2
This is going to be amazing. These marches will be historical in the best way possible just as the Trump administration will be historical in the worst way possible.
The status quo will change this November. These young people will be one of the major factors. The good will win and the bad will lose. It is just now beginning.
There is hope. You and I must be involved. Must support them. We must help them achieve the change we all need. It is time.
1
Finally, something to give me hope for the future. Saw 3 of these kids on Rachael Maddow last night: so impressed and so proud of them. We need to support their enthusiasm and their message.
Ms. Hill now hopes to be a member of Congress or an ambassador. “I thought, well, Trump,” she said. “If he can get into politics and if he can get elected, why can’t I?”
Out of the mouths of babes. What I'm happy to see is that this generation coming up isn't going to play. They aren't going to let the country continue with the status quo. They will not just vote and make sure you do, too, but they will be a part of the process, as it should be. They are already calling out bad political actors and their activism is ensuring there are consequences. The waves are growing stronger. It's welcomed good news to read amid all the craziness that is our leadership of the moment.
2
I have paid for my grandson to fly from CA to DC to attend this march. He is a committed idealist that sees the current Congress and the Trump administration as a true and deep threat to democracy. He is wanting to be a public servant and will create the future. I am happy to support him in his re-creation of the ideals of America.
3
I hope we're able to get it together. As a young voter (age 19) and avid NYTimes reader a I have never been so excited about taking political action. Nearly everyone else my age gets their "news" from FB/Insta/Twitter. When I walked out of my college recently as part of the highly publicized NATIONWIDE protests, many people asked me what I was doing. A sorry hundred people from my school showed up on the lawn, many of them administrators. And I attend college in New York!
I am strongly inclined to believe the NYtimes and other liberal news sources are overeager in their coverage. The uprising is not as strong as they would have you believe; it is not comparable to movements in the 60s/70s.
Nevertheless, I will rally, and vote and annoy my friends with talk about politics.
Perhaps true change is yet to come.
2
I wish thom well. But how many Republican voters will be persuaded to vote with their children’s lives in mind rather than their wallets?
3
Let's not forget that the majority of voters agree with them. We've got to have their backs.
4
Marches are not enough. There needs to be a more continuous action, like closing down all schools on Friday afternoon. No action? Add Thursday. No action? add Wednesday. As we proved in the Vietnam era, shutting down the system on a regular, broad basis works.
Young people you can make a difference.Your commitment needs to be deep and constant.Two generations ago the youth of the country were opposed to the Vietnam War .They protested often and vocally without the help of social media.They changed history- President Lyndon Johnson decided not to run again because of the intense opposition to the war.Ending this unpopular war became a priority.These protestors never gave up.You need to stay politically involved and vote!You could become the first young generation to vote in large numbers and make politicians listen.
2
Very impressive indeed. I think this reflects the generation rift in the USA. The young generation is no longer willing to watch the politicians collect the money from lobbists to continue doing nothing, whereas they should work on and pass the legislation that the society and the country as a whole need to be able to effectively fight the surge of crime and shootings, partly caused by the availability of guns.
Also: Massive debt that just seems to be growing out of proportion and no party pushing sensible meassures to reduce the spending, will endanger the prosperity of future generations and their aspirations. It is irresponsible to just pass debts on to the young generation without even trying to reduce it.They will have to work to pay it back.
Regardless of what you think of these kids' policies, any sane adult should be glad that youngsters like them are actively trying to participate in this society learning about the issues, trying to find solution, and acting on it.
If you don't agree with their policies. Don't silence them. Be an adult and have a genuine conversation to persuade them or at least convey your position in a clear and polite manner.
I believe these students will succeed. Time for us adults to support them on their inspired mission any way we can.
1
I commend this great social activism. It’s sad to realize that American government has become so controlled by special interests that it’s so deaf to its larger constituency. Hopefully these young people will keep their determination to make a better society in the coming years, even after the government again turns a deaf ear towards these demands, as they most surely will.
Let's hope these kids show up in force tomorrow. And, we owe them our support. They may not always know exactly what to do, but they know exactly why they are doing it.
As to those who think these kids are confused, I reminisce on the words of David Bowie:
"And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're going through."
1
The nation’s gratitude to these splendid young people who have the courage and leadership that so many of their elders lack. Let’s hope they keep rolling!
I hope this is the beginning of a wake up for young people. A generation that has been infantilized by their parents yet at the same time drenched with cynicism by the media has so much working against it. So many of them have retreated from participation in the real world into the exhibitionism and self-obsession of Youtube and Snapchat. Let's hope this is the beginning of a reversal.
America and its guns: always uneasy bedfellows. Our guns allowed us to make revolution against King George III and establish a country based on the rule of law and not the whim of a monarch. As the frontier moved west, the guns moved with it. But even in the wild west, the law was forced to confiscate the guns of men who came to town because guns, gambling, liquor and people concentrated in a small space were not compatible with safety and order. And again, with the continent tamed and prohibition having given birth to organized crime, political consensus used the Federal Firearms Act of 1934 to heavily regulate machine guns and sound suppressors (silencers) confiscating them from criminal and largely keeping them from citizens because the danger such fire power posed. We find ourselves at yet another cross roads only this time the NRA which used to believe that the 2nd Amendment did not require citizens be allowed to keep and bear the arms of war, has reversed field and driven a sword in the bed of the political consensus that to live with the gun, we need to limit the guns we live with. That is our challenge - to draw a line somewhere near sanity.
You are the future of America and our best hope for maintaining our democracy. Thank you for your strong, diligent efforts. I hope you combine your activism with registering new, young voters and use your power to get ALL of your peers to vote, too. We need you desperately.
As the adults have failed you, you must do it yourselves and I'm so proud of you that you are.
1
Been waiting for this, wondering what it was going to take to motivate a generation to wake up and take some action. I guess now we know: self-preservation.
They act because it has been made crystal clear to them that the people who have been telling them what to do all their short lives would rather protect their own interests - even at the expense of children.
May the March for Our Lives movement be the impetus for more and more young Americans to vote in this year's mid term elections and a warning to lawmakers who collude with the gun lobbies that they will be voted out of office.
We must not be intimidated out of calling for the Second Amendment to be repealed and replaced.
Its language is archaic and of no relevance to the 21st century. Nobody is a member of a well-regulated militia. The security of the free state does not depend on everybody having unlimited access to weapons of war and ammo.
Moreover, NRA radicals aggressively insist that the well-regulated phrase of the amendment does not apply to anything. The fact that the amendment’s most intransigent fanatics think that the well-regulated phrase in it has no meaning, is another argument in favor of repealing and replacing the amendment.
The Supreme Court has already ruled, 3 times, on the meaning of the Second Amendment and they are the final arbiter of "what the Constitution means".
You are, of course, free to work to repeal the Second Amendment, but I hope you realize it requires ratification by 3/4ths of the states -- 38 -- and most of those are red states.
1
It’s so easy to get jaded, cynical as one gets older. But I refuse to accept that as natural. I’ve been enthralled, encouraged and rejuvenated watching these students organize and express themselves. To take their future into their hands. As is their legal right! Many of them may be too young to vote this November. But I am not!
I saw picture yesterday of a group of students embarking on the trip to Washington for the march. All smiles and high fives as if this was the senior trip. It remains to be seen that this march will spur a lasting movement and bring about change. But if recent 'march for...' scenarios are any indication, it won't. Sad.
1
I knew women and teenage girls who marched in January 2017 at the "women's march". It was a lark for them -- a fun vacation trip, with concerts and freebies.
Did it change anything? Nope -- Trump is still POTUS.
I ask this: when will Americans stand up and march for something like universal health care? instead of to take away our Constitutional rights?
1
"As a group, they combine liberal social beliefs with an intensely wary view of the existing political and economic order, opinion polls have found. While young people are not uniformly Democratic-leaning or supportive of gun regulation, they are well to the left of the middle in their views."
But even more important than where they stand on some sort of scale is how they express themselves.
I've been blown away by the linguistic skills, poise, and passion of these ambassadors against the status quo.
At times like these, the jaded will always predict the passion and commitment will disappear once they move on from high school to college.
I'm not so sure about that. We might be seeing the type civic engagement that ought to be demanded of all citizens, not just teens genuinely afraid for their lives.
They are learning, and learning fast: to get things done in America takes energy, passion and endurance, because change comes slowly.
What's more they're inspiring in a way that's been so sadly missing in a polarized nation.
48
Supporting these students in my thoughts, but I will be judging the state science fair. I hope my students will be thrilled with their science fair experience and the research they did to get there. I hope they will grow up to value data and to use data to inform their decisions. I hope they will vote, and I hope there will be gun death/injury data available to inform their voting decisions. I hope there will be data on gun manufacturers’ links to the NRA, and data on any links among the NRA, Russia and political parties and politicians to inform their voting decisions. I hope there will be data on the probable effects of proposed regulation to inform their voting decisions.
18
The big question is where do these politically active and liberal students live (and vote)? If all the energy is in blue states, it won’t have a big impact.
I want to hear about the marches in Wisconsin, Georgia, Ohio etc. These are the states that matter.
22
All states matter, unless you believe that getting shot isn't an equal opportunity experience.
1
Florida matters, Cousy. That's for sure.
2
I am marching on Saturday in NY - both in support of the bravery of our students in stepping up where adults have failed, and also for more common sense and real humanity in approach to the real problems facing us.
I will be with the GAG contingent - marching as a white clad and veiled Human Being...carrying placards for those whose lives were lost to gun violence and can lo longer speak to their experience.
I hope to see many adults at the marches. If our kids are to have a future - we all need be present
20
Best wishes to all students marching on Saturday!
You rule!
All wishes for your success!
54
Ignoring its primary duty to society and its safety if the Capitol Hill elite remains tight-lipped on the gun safety law, as it is beholden to the NRA, the young students are enthusiastically undertaking public protests to demand safety and secure future. What a contrast of priorities between the two generations of the same society?
37
"Teach your children well."
I don't think we all failed these wonderful young people. I think we taught them to think and to act. We had very little control over the minds and spirits of people who weren't moved to make a safer and more peaceful world. But we could teach the children. Make no mistake. These kids are the grandchildren of activists or, perhaps, the students of them.
99
Aren’t the people who “taught the children” also those now overwhelmingly in positions of power who are too cowardly to do anything, who have time and time again voted to enrich themselves at the expense of everyone else, the same people who have us the horrid 80s? Maybe we’ve finally had enough of the Me generation. You made some good music but pretty much messed everything else up.
No, Mr. or Ms. Rivers. You are wrong, and that's about all I can say because it's the few who stole the power and the majority that have had to cope and do more and more to keep dreams from dying. I taught the children and they're just the best legacy we have, I recognize these kids. I salute them. Don't tell me that my generation didn't do its part because we have tried and tried. I can't speak for the one per cent. I can speak only for the rest of us.
1
Thank you students for inspiring us, disrupting politics as usual, for bringing about real change. It is making us all more aware and hopeful in a world that has
so many challenges confronting us all each day.
68
I'm an older millennial ("the vanguard", as someone put it), and I teach 11th and 12th graders. Some of my students are among those organizing the Orlando March for Our Lives this weekend.
It's strange but I don't feel "proud" of them, so much as I am relieved. I feel like Wellington, watching von Blücher's advance on Napoleon's flank.
This is a seminal moment. It was a near thing in 2016 with the Sanders campaign. I feared it would fade, as it did after Occupy. But this time truly feels different. The polls will never see it coming if the momentum sustains.
121
The country needs its young leaders to lead, as they are doing now in the case of gun safety. But more importantly, the young themselves need to lead their more reluctant peers to the voting booths and 2018 and 2020.
Especially across our younger demographics, voter turnout in the United States is an embarrassment. Youthful leaders need followers, and it's up to us adults to help them.
Seize the day kids; it's your futures that are at stake.
76
At 62, I have found myself thinking again about my older friends and family members who voted for Trump. I find myself reflecting on what a radically selfish vote that was.
They voted against their own children and grandchildren, who were often horrified by what they had done. They voted to turn their back on the future, and for who? For what?
Their kids did not ask for a future of fear and anger, an America hidden from the world, where every school is an armed camp, every day another opportunity to learn how to shelter in place, global warming spiraling out of control, and John Bolton conjuring up new wars to start all over the planet.
But that is exactly what those older voters have delivered to them. I have become as ashamed of my generation as I am of Donald Trump.
God bless the kids of Parkland and their generation. May they be granted the strength, wisdom, and time to take over from those who have failed them so catastrophically.
739
I am 63 and I am proud of my generation. We marched and supported civil rights. Things changed. We marched and ended the Vietnam War.
The divide in this country is not generational. Most of the people I know support sensible gun laws, compassionate treatment of undocumented immigrants, abortion rights, free trade and most other liberal views.
The folks who oppose these things are from ALL generations and they don't live where I live. The divide in this country is significantly rural vs. urban, not generational.
6
Bill, living in northern Europe and watching from afar this great nation called America ,there are lots of things in America that I find it hard to understand since you are a first world country, no universal health care, no free education, and sensible gun law. I have been shocked over and over since trump election. I just never could understand it. Thanks for the candour, and thanks God there is democracy! You can vote him out before he ruin the world , like Bush did to middle East!
8
One might say the same of the older voters who favored Clinton in the primaries. Clinton dismissed young people writ large as unable to "do their research", and patronized with Tweets like "3 emojis or less".
The Parkland students are proving that, no, the "kids" aren't stupid and, yes, sometimes you DO have to demand more.
Quoth Mr. Melchior :“What I see is children that are just plain confused.”
Confused? Really? They sound pretty clear to me.
231
They aren't confused. They are angry, and with every good reason in the world. I'm another Boomer in awe of these young people and will be honored to join them in the streets tomorrow.
2
They're confused because they don't agree with HIM. Poor scared and tired old man...
3
Let me summarize the main point.
These kids at Parkman Douglas studied political science, and that's how they learned to be effective. They learned about primary challenges.
Their strategy, as Emma Gonzalez announced in her speech, is to demand specific policy changes, like banning assault weapons.
If their legislators (like Rick Scott) refuse to ban assault weapons, they will challenge them in the primary, and in the general election. A politician's worst fear is being primaried. That's how to get their attention.
Every politician is now on notice that if he or she doesn't support a ban on assault weapons, there are organized students who will start a primary challenge.
And who knows. Sometimes a primary challenger wins.
(And don't forget the (union) teachers who taught these kids political science.)
175
I hope Ms. Leal is right. I'm twice as old as her, but I'm right there with her.
15
Despair is being replaced by a glimmer of hope, and the torch bearers are the students who have grown up knowing they could be next to be gunned down in the hallways of their schools.
I'll was there for the Women's March in Los Angeles in 2016, and on Saturday, I'll be wearing orange and joining the high school students marching in Palm Springs, Calif. I will borrow one of their their slogans: "Protect Kids, Not Guns."
Mass slaughter in our schools can be stopped if GOP lawmakers stop their shameful kowtowing to the NRA and pass sensible gun control laws supported by the majority of Americans.
57
Can't wait for these kids to eventually be in charge. They are not mean, malevolent, or morons like my generation and those older than thirty.
66
That's what we used to say about ourselves.
Try leaving West Hollywood.
1
Give them time, Daniel. People are people. Always and forever.
2
I was young once, fifty years ago. I have opposed guns and gun violence for all that time.
One thing I have learned is that unless we repeal the Second Amendment and confiscate all the guns, there is no hope of stopping gun violence.
Nothing else will work.
32
phht, we're about the same age, yet I live in a country just north of you.
We live in a very similar world, except for one thing, in Canada we have reasonable gun control legislation.
You certainly don't have to confiscate all guns to stop almost all gun violence, you simply have to control who owns firearms, and the types they can own.
Firearms have a legitimate place in society, what doesn't have a place is unrestricted guns.
1
I think repealing the 2nd is impossible, but there are plenty of loop holes to exploit...and Congress and this president live to exploit loop holes.
Hello: I will be marching with you in Albany, NY. Thank you for your leadership, young people.
44
I really HOPE this succeeds.
I'm planing to join a sibling march myself at 74. BUT I have been frustrated at the lack of information on their website. There is more to organizing an effective movement than posting on facebook.
They raised a lot of money, some of which should have gone to hiring more experienced people for better organization. Where to meet?? Where to park?? Where are the port-a-potties??
8
Regarding your Facebook comment ("there's more to organizing....than posting on Facebook): I agree 100%. I am not on Facebook and never will be on Facebook so I miss a lot of activist organizing. I hope that changes.
1
Look here for information about satellite events.
https://event.marchforourlives.com/event/march-our-lives-events/search/
I will be marching in CA as a middle-aged person who has taken care of patients injured by bullets.
Omg, this Gen-Xer wonders, were those your most pressing questions heading to Woodstock?
1
Thank you, young folks. America will survive.
19
We'll be out in force in Seattle - young and old!
30
Anyone who believes in what these students are doing, that they are more than naive youngsters and that they are talking more truthfully and maturely than the president of the United States, should march on Saturday. Your right to assemble and protest peacefully may be just a memory if our country keeps moving in its current direction. Just look at the peoples' rights in Russia, China and other authoritarian regimes.
91
I was a police officer for 32 years and, before that, a war resister during Vietnam. For all the promise the 1960s seemed to hold, my generation descended into consumerism, cynicism, and an orgy of greed resulting in Trump, Fox, Facebook, and the NRA. Our individual souls were sold long ago. Now the soul of the nation is in the hands of these young people and my grandson. Idealism is not needed - a simple restoration of civic pride and human decency is victory enough.
259
Well said, Sir! Hear, hear!
1
Our individual souls were sold long ago.
Speak for yourself, Jim. There are plenty of people from the 60s generation who have lived modest lifestyles, tried to improve the world through activities such as organic farming, going into teaching rather than banking, writing, expanding our social dictums to include people with different sexual preferences, helping many blacks elevate themselves to positions of respect and authority and so on.
Some, as you said, have bought into consumerism and complacency, but many, many have kept fighting the good fight.
1
Have at it, kids. VOTE. Like your lives depend on it, because they DO.
156
While the rest of the country -- myself included -- stares aghast at the drip-by-drip withering of our national purpose, these kids are a godsend. Articulate and determined, they have already generated some tremendous political power. Anyone claiming they are being "used" for special interests or "directed" by nefarious organizers hasn't been listening. Their voices are as genuine as things can get these days, and I wholeheartedly support them.
I live in downtown Washington DC where the occasional street shooting in my neighborhood is not nearly as scary as the knowledge that there are law abiding owners of AR-15s and other weapons of war. I'll take a "criminal with a gun" any day over these fetishists, slobbering over their bumpstocks and high-capacity magazines.
At the age of 62, I'll be marching with the kids -- soaking up their passion and joining with their pleas for basic common sense and moral decency.
150
Good. Keep it up, young folks! My generation - and the one before it, and the two after it - failed miserably. We didn't hold our representatives to account, and YOU are unfairly paying the price.
Make no mistake: they ARE afraid of you! That's one thing my generation did accomplish: lowering the voting age to 18. You have the franchise. Make the most of it! (And if you can find it in your hearts to do so, forgive us. Most of us are with you now... at long last.)
323
Do NOT apologize to these young people on my behalf ! My generation has nothing to apologize for ! Their African-American friends who sit next to them in classes (we brought them there via segregation), the right to have birth control (we brought them that too in our fight for Women's Rights), the roof over their heads (we fought the oppression of the Great Recession and provided that to them as well). I've not only voted in every available local, state and federal election, I've marched, protested, campaigned, written thousand of letters to my representatives, signed hundreds of petitions, attended meetings, town halls, taught at low socio-economic schools..... I have done my part and will NOT apologize to anyone. I will continue to fight for just causes and support those who do the same, young or old - unapologetically.
2
Bush, Obama , Trump all utter knuckleheads in their own way. Not new we just do not have people who love the Donald's personality but he is truly no worse than the last 16 years of incompetent presidents.
Yes, Mr. Mariner, these young people have the franchise but not the mentors, the MONEY or the current ability to vote. We, as the generation that marched and protested for our causes years ago DO have the money to support their cause, the time to mentor and the current ability to vote. We must stop lamenting and act with those resources.
1
You go kids. All of us 60s and 70s activists (“the whole world is watching” we used to tell ourselves) are watching you with great admiration and pride. It’s your world. We will help you in any way we can, and we will certainly turn out on Saturday to support you.
We didn’t have social media or even phones. It was hard to mobilize a movement, but our lives were at stake in Vietnam. Now your schools aren’t safe, and the stakes are equally high. You have the vote. Seize it. Register, register, register and throw out of office the bums who forget who they are supposed to represent.
485
Soon these these brave young people will be voting. I pray that they remember that the G.O.P. would rather take blood money from the N.R.A. than protect their lives.
43
I will march with them in spirit. I live too far away.
20
I can see the puppet strings from here. How many school shootings since Parkland? Two or three. Who did it? Kids did it.
What are these brave and courageous political activists hoping to accomplish by marching to Washington when the shooters are right there in the classrooms with them? This isn't mental illness. It's a revolt. They should tune in and find out what it's all about. They are the only ones who can do it.
2
They are hoping to reduce access to guns.
1
Seriously? In case you forgot your basic civics class or slept through it, Washington is the seat of power in this country, the place where law is made. Yes, the shooters are in their classrooms shooting because lawmakers IN WASHINGTON are not passing the laws needed to control the sale of guns that enable those shooters.
It's also the political heart of the country where every group that wants to be heard goes to make its point. Do you ask the same questions of the anti-choice marchers every year they show up in Washington?
2
So proud of these young people. They stand tall, speak the truth and dare to dream. They are the true believers. We shall overcome this plague of gun violence and hate. It takes resolve. It takes standing together among kindred spirits. And it takes realizing this will be a long-term battle with short-term gains and losses. Long may your courage be infectious.
21
The ONLY way to stop gun massacres is to repeal the Second Amendment and confiscate all the guns.
Nothing else will work.
8
Irony: if anyone knows the power of social media, it’s the POTUS. But even he surely can’t conceive the ability for today’s youth to communicate and rally as a group. The tidal wave keeps growing.
8
I'm well past high school but I, and many more like me stand with these young people. I'll see you in Washington on Saturday!
17
Thank You for Waking Us Up!
I'm sorry my generation failed you, we didn't fight hard enough after Columbine.
Before shootings were "Normal"
Thank you for reminding us that this should NOT be normal.
16
Teenagers stopped the Vietnam war. And they can lead us to rational gun laws.
22
Hmm. At the end of the day, Nixon and Kissinger ended the Vietnam war, after dragging it out four years longer than necessary. But the teenage war protesters did inadvertently play a role in the election of Nixon, so maybe you have a point. Chew on the implications of that.
1
These kids know their civics:
When in the course human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them... They should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
...
Our government has refused its assent to laws, most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
Our government has forbidden our governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance.
We’re with you, kids, we just weren’t brave enough until you showed us the way.
26
“And a little child shall lead them”. These children are the hope of this country. They are smart enough to realize that they can’t count on adults to protect them or change things, so they are doing it themselves. They may yet save us from ourselves.
21
I think this activism by the students is fantastic. I wish them well. Don't you love the comments by those who make remarks such as "They are confused." Such arrogance. Approximately 1.4 million people were killed using firearms in the U.S. between 1968 and 2011. Compared to 22 other high-income nations, the U.S. gun-related murder rate is 25 times higher. All strength to the student protesters.
75
Practical gun control progress is a going to be a marathon, not a sprint. But it's really heartening to see these high school students leading the charge, as my generation is completely failed them. I'll be marching with them on Saturday.
26
This is the generation that will make America Great Again, not the idiot in the oval office.
43
Please lead us, you guys are our only hope now.
6
I have been very impressed and moved on an emotional level by these young American's becoming politically involved, protesting and making their voices heard. It's about time and there is no time like the present. Unlike some of the older generation in this country that thinks kids should be seen and not heard, I heard somebody say that on TV, both my wife and I who are in our 50's support their efforts.
To those of you who are going out to protest and make yourselves heard, remember these words as you face your opponents:
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." - Mahatma Gandhi
ROCK ON!
417
At their age I was debating Viet Nam at the dinner table. Often sent to my room for my views; which gave me time to think about how to better present my side. I marched for Women's Rights. I worked for McGovern. All at their age. I had the energy, the brain power and the ability to debate. I worked at SUNY/A and gladly put all the books back on shelves in the Univ.Library which had been tossed during a protest. I Marched till my feet screamed and my voice was horse. And was wondering when the next generation would show up and take over this ole ladies causes. Now we are here. I have money to help them, advice to give them and am still marching with them.
2
Thanks to this new generation; gun control, defeating the NRA, and saving so many lives are all achievable. Pity it required tragedy.
11
Awesome. American Democracy may be dying - in the White House, Congress and Washington more broadly - thanks in part to our current administration and the scorched earth, facts don’t matter, political landscape, so it’s refreshing to see that there are green shoots poking up in places. Maybe there’s hope
15
The political caculus has changed in the Framing of the Gun Safety issue.
The message from the Kids in Florida that they want to be safe has created a tectonic shift in the debate.
I expect to see many students new to the issue become engaged politically.
14
I am so proud of these kids. They don't have to be perfect. It is their first time trying to make their country a better place as a group. You can't accomplish anything if you don't try.
I will be there on Saturday to support them. My sign? "Hear the Children."
17
My generation mobilized when faced with a war that made no sense but eventually dropped the ball. The military industrial complex had too much to lose to let go and worked quietly behind the scenes to rebuild the far right. There is so much money to be made in chaos and war. There are many ways to foment disruption so that insecure and riled up voters do not always think through their choices.
And now this new generation is taking over. They seem far smarter and more focused than we were. I am in awe of them and hope they continue their activism throughout their lives. They began in tragedy but will triumph in spirit. Change is just beginning but they have the energy and and the power of being on the right side of history.
I can't wait to watch them move into Congress and activist roles. These are goal driven kids with purpose. Listening to them speak is such a joy, knowing we have not failed them all.
336
Watching the current generation work is truly demoralizing.
Activists are good for news coverage but frequently get stoned, forget the cause and change nothing because hard work is not the same as shouting about a cause for a few protests and campaigns.
1
Kathy; your generation is mine, also. I agree we dropped the ball to a certain extent, however, this generation marching now is really savvy and I see a genuine promise in their determination.
By the way, when we protested, we did convince President Johnson to step down. He was no way as evil as the present POTUS, but it helps illustrate the potential of young, focused people.
2
"Activists are good for news coverage but frequently get stoned, forget the cause and change nothing because hard work is not the same as shouting about a cause for a few protests and campaigns."
You're hallucinating. Also, it's spelled "Confused" and that's putting it gently.
2
I marched against the VietNam war. Same deal. We were teenagers, had no power, no vote, and were being picked up in the draft and shipped off to VietNam to get shot up. Now those same guns are being used right here at home, against children, no less. I don't know and I don't care what provokes shooters to take lives on a whim, I want it stopped. March as if their lives depend on it because it does.
25
Watching these teenagers just fills me with so much pride and admiration. Change doesn’t happen over night, but if they can keep this movement going it will bring the changes they hope for. That’s how great leaders such as Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Cesar Chavez, and Dolores Huerta, to name a few, got started. I can’t wait for the near future when I am teaching my students about the young adults that started a movement to protect all Americans from assault weapons.
33
The young leaders of and participants in this movement are incredibly articulate, organized, and impressive. I hope that they stay engaged. At a minimum, it is important that they register to vote, vote in every election, and convince their cohort to vote.
80
I hope commenting here is not the sum total of your activism and that you actually follow your own advice.
2
You go, young people! I am proud to see what this generation is going to become...what is to become of us? I am finally seeing something to feel hopeful about.
blessings to all of you young ones.
201
Go students, go! I am so proud of you all. I wish I could join you..
1
God bless these kids but perhaps some of them should stay at home and convince their parents to discard their semiautomatics.
75
I'm sure that theses students are quite capable of marching and of holding discussions about their parents' semiautomatic ownership. One does not preclude the other.
1
cheap shot.
1
I have a student (18) who was kicked out of his parents' house because of his involvement in the gun safety cause. You clearly don't understand the cultural dynamic, and you underestimate their commitment -- the hallmarks of an armchair cynic.
"Your old road is rapidly fadin'.
So get out of the new one,
If you can't lend your hand."
He was talking to you.
If it takes children to change the minds of our representatives, then so be it. They all have my greatest admiration.
My daughter and son-in-law and my grandsons will be marching in New York City on Saturday. I am incredibly proud of them,
313
Why don't they march on 12th Street in Detroit, on a hot summer weekend night? Unarmed?
That would be a "learning experience," wouldn't it?
2
They have shown total contempt for children. We need to change our representatives, not change their minds.
1
I have two HS aged grandsons; one is a senior and will turn 18 in early April, one is a freshman and will be 16 in August. Their HS, a nationally highly respected elite magnet HS, had a 17 minute walk-out on Monday. The elder grandson did not walk out - he stayed in school and had what he described as a very interesting talk with his AP Politics and Govenrment teacher - the first humanities this math/science/tech student has ever found interesting. I asked him why he didn't walk out and he said that he felt that the issues were becoming muddled and more politicized (particular candidates, particular political party) than the original protests from the FL high school, and that he wasn't sure he agreed with the rather muddled agenda. I will have the younger GS as my "house guest" this weekend, and will ask him why he DID choose to walk out, but his elder brother felt it was just a way to get out of class for him. We'll see if he agrees.
I think this movement may make some headway on gun control if it avoids attaching itself to particular candidates and a particular political party. The leader at the original HS has pledged to do just this. Once party politics and candidate become involved, the entire thing will just blow up and many supporters will be lost.
I don't think the country is looking for Vietnam Era protests today. We're fractured enough as it is - we don't need more of this. We need issues that those of both ends of the political spectrum agree.
14
Hard to avoid party politics when it's essentially one specific political party that contests every proposal on rational gun control.
344
india....guess who let the Assault Weapons Ban expire in 2004 ?
Who shield gun companies from legal liability with the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act in 2005 ?
Who refuses to ban bump stocks ?
Who helps ensure that the USA, with 5% of the world's population, has 45% of the world's 600 million civilian guns ?
Who does the National Terrorist Association blindly support ?
Your local Guns Over People member of Congress and gutless President.
Republicans have sent 'thoughts and prayers' for too long so guns could live so children could die.
It's one political that has hijacked public safety and has blood on their hands and money.
Welcome to reality.
False equivalence is fraud.
191
Sometimes political protest unites unlikely friends and former foes. Please don't project scepticism rooted in your readings of past movements onto this one before it has even begun. Keep an open mind. Plus, isn't what you are asking for a "muddled" movement, as in all mixed together for a common cause? Asking for perfection at this point would be to doom the whole hopeful enterprise.
19