Sacramento, California, February 19, 2018: Americans Against Gun Violence applauds the students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and other high schools across the country who are speaking out concerning the need for definitive gun control laws to protect them and their fellow classmates from horrific mass shootings like the one that occurred on February 14, 2018, in Parkland, Florida. Below are excerpts from some of the students’ statements.

Condolences and saying we’re so sorry for your loss is obviously important, but what we need at this point is not to say that anymore because there shouldn’t be any more people that die. We need to take action. (David Hogg, student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, during interview on PBS News Hour, February 15, 2018)

We can’t ignore the issues of gun control that this tragedy raises. And so, I’m asking — no, demanding — we take action now. Why? Because at the end of the day, the students at my school felt one shared experience — our politicians abandoned us by failing to keep guns out of schools. But this time, my classmates and I are going to hold them to account. This time we are going to pressure them to take action. (Cameron Kasky, student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in op-ed entitled “My Generation Won’t Stand for This,” posted on CNN, February 16, 2018)

We need to prevent this from ever happening again. Because you see it on the news and you say, “That’s not my kid, it’s not my problem.” Well, what if one day it is your kid that gets shot? Then are you going to finally care? Then will something finally get done? (Lexi Gendron, student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in interview on NBC News, February 17, 2018)

To every politician who is taking donations from the NRA, shame on you… Politicians who sit in their gilded House and Senate seats funded by the NRA telling us nothing could have been done to prevent this, we call

[slang term for nonsense]. They say tougher guns laws do not decrease gun violence. We call [slang term for nonsense]… They say no laws could have prevented the hundreds of senseless tragedies that have occurred. We call [slang term for nonsense]. That us kids don’t know what we’re talking about, that we’re too young to understand how the government works. We call [slang term for nonsense]. (Emma Gonzalez, student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, as reported on CNN, February 17, 2018)

The points that these students are making are true; their demands for the urgent adoption of definitive gun control laws are reasonable; and their calls for the ouster of elected officials who place the interests of the gun lobby above the safety of American children are entirely appropriate. We are reaching out to these students to offer them our full support.

Note: Click on this link for a PDF version of this press release.