Marjory Stoneman Douglas High Students Hit The Road For Gun Reform
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PARKLAND (CBSMiami) - The "March for Our Lives" movement is hitting the road.
Monday morning Marjory Stoneman Douglas High students announced that they will be taking part in a summer bus tour "March for Our Lives - Road to Change" to champion gun reform in the wake of the Valentine's Day shooting at their school which left 17 people dead.
The tour follows last March's rally in Washington D.C. where thousands turned out in support of gun reform.
"At our march, people rallied in record numbers. We marched and we called our representatives, we started to hold people accountable, our politicians, for things that had very often been shrugged off as the price of our democracy. People really started to pressure on those who work from them and we've started to see some very positive change," said Cameron Kasky.
About two dozen students will take part in the 60-day trip.
"It's a two-month summer tour around the country, where we will go from city to city, state to state, and connect with community to community, making sure we are going to harness the energy and passion we witnessed on March 24th and turn it into action," said Kasky.
"At the end of the day, real change is brought by voting," he added. "We are encouraging people to educate themselves on their vote, to get out there and turn voting into more of an act of patriotism than a chore."
The students will be divided into two groups.
One group will focus on Florida and talk to voters about gubernatorial candidate Adam Putnam, an ardent supporter of the National Rifle Association who posted on Twitter "I'm a proud #NRASellout!" last July. They'll also bring up Governor Rick Scott who is running for Congress.
"He doesn't listen because he has his eyes on the prize, which is NRA money," Jaclyn Corin, an incoming senior and the class president, told the Sun-Sentinel.
The second bus plans to make 75 stops in about 25 states.
Each group will encourage young people to register to vote and push for gun control reforms by naming politicians who accept donations from the NRA. Incoming MSD Senior Jaclyn Corin stressed that this is not a partisan effort.
"We don't want any other community to feel the way we do and that's the only way to prevent this from happening time and time again every single week is through voting, we are just trying to save lives here," she said.
"The last midterm elections, the turnout was the lowest it had been since World War II. That shows, if anything, just how in trouble our political system will be if people don't understand the power, meaning and importance of their vote," said Kasky.
Kasky added that four million people will turn 18 this year.
"If every single one of those people votes, encourages their friends to vote, makes sure their family is getting to the polls, we can make real change in this country," said Kasky.
Student activist David Hogg said their efforts will also include outreach to NRA supporters and gun-owners.
The bus company and the students' hotel stays will be paid for with donations that have come in from across the country from people who support their press for gun control.
