A group of students from Douglas High School is traveling to Florida’s capital to pressure legislators to act by changing the gun laws in the state with the objective of averting a repeat mass attack. Last Wednesday a massacre was witnessed in Florida where a 19-year-old, Nikolas Cruz visited his former school and opened fire on students killing 17 people.
Gun violence has resurfaced the debate on gun laws which is considered a sensitive subject in America. Republicans are pro-guns while the Democrats are against gun ownership and wish for stringent laws against it.
The Students Itinerary
About 100 students from Douglas High School are traveling over 400 miles by bus to get to Florida’s capital where they plan to urge legislators to take action against gun violence by formulating strict laws on gun controls. The students will hold a demonstration on Wednesday with the goal of compelling Florida’s Republican-controlled legislature to consider a package of strict gun control laws.
Trump first spoke about gun violence after the Florida school incident on Monday stating that he would support strict background checks on gun buys. A group of Republican legislators also came out on Monday to state that they would consider having a sweeping package of gun control laws. The remarks came as a backdrop to a tour the legislators were taken through at the scene of the crime.
Chris Grady, a 19-year-old senior from Douglas High and on the trip stated that he hopes that their escapade will yield some commonsense laws such as demanding background checks on individuals wishing to purchase guns.
The students plan to continue their trip on the coast to tighten the screw on Congress because the aftermath of the massacre echoes beyond Florida. For example, Monday was marked with different protests including the group that met in downtown Los Angeles Park chanting for tougher background checks and other gun safety measures.
Influence of the Florida School Shooting Account
The immediate influence was to draw criticism to Trump’s administration and the calls for the review of gun legislation. Lawmakers who may have taken hard-lined positions on gun control have softened their stance on the matter. The last week attack seemed to overcome the opposition of some Republican state’s leadership on gun laws. They were against gun restrictions but are presently willing to debate on a solution. This may be so even when there is still a contingent of Republican legislators against gun regulations.
Amid the pressures, Senator Bill Galvano who belongs to the Republican party said that the State’s Senate is preparing a packaging law which will raise the age limit to purchase a gun to 21, creating a buffer period to wait for the purchased weapon and creating gun-violence restraining orders among others.
