Traveling Parkland Survivors are Stunned in Tallahassee
On Tuesday, Feb. 20, 23 students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida traveled on a charter bus to persuade state legislators in Tallahassee to ban assault rifles. Not only were students hoping to convince lawmakers to ban assault rifles from public purchase, but also hoped to impact the national conversation on guns.
On Valentines Day, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz attacked his alma mater with an AR-15 assault rifle, taking the lives of 17 innocent students. Upon arriving, Cruz pulled the fire alarm and began his rampage as students paraded out of the exits for the imaginary fire. Two students remain hospitalized from the shooting, while the other 17 victims died.
Following the shooting, many were asking questions regarding how someone so young could obtain such a deadly weapon. Reports claim the “mentally-unstable” Cruz bought the gun legally at a gun store last year.
After a long bus trip to the Florida state capitol, Tallahassee, the students came up short of their goal. A bill proposition to ban assault rifles was denied by the state legislation in a landslide 71-36 vote. Stunned by the lack of action, many survivors broke down into tears.
Florida lawmakers explained that a more minimal proposal probably would have passed. Suggestions included raising the age requirement to purchase an assault rifle, but no word about actually banning the powerful weapons.
President Trump, who proposed a national ban on gun accessories such as bump stocks, remained fairly quiet on this issue. Bump stocks, since the Las Vegas shooting in December, are infamously known for speeding up the fire rate of guns. Bump stocks were not used in the Parkland shooting.
