Senior Emma Gonzalez has become a leading voice of the Parkland shooting survivors through her powerful speeches. During a CNN Town Hall Talk, the 18-year-old courageously confronted spokeswoman for the National Rifles Association (NRA), Dana Loesch.
Addressing Loesch, who has two children, she said: “I want you to know that we will support your two children in the way that you will not.”
“The shooter at our school obtained weapons that he used on us legally. Do you believe that it should be harder to obtain the semi-automatic and weapons and the modifications for these weapons to make them fully automatic like bump stocks?”
In response to her question, Loesch said: “I want to answer your question.”
She then proceeded to not answer her question.
Instead, she said: “I don’t believe that this insane monster should have ever been able to obtain a firearm, ever. I do not think that he should have gotten his hands on any kind of weapon.
“That’s number one. This individual was nuts and I, nor the millions of people that I represent as a part of this organisation, that I’m here speaking for, none of us support people who are crazy, who are a danger to themselves, who are a danger to others, getting their hands on a firearm.”
Emma is part of a group of survivors who have already appeared in hundreds of interviews in the days following the mass shooting. The group have spear headed the #NeverAgain movement and are holding a protest about gun control Washington on March 24.
Pulse Nightclub Survivors Join Parkland Students in Gun Control Efforts
The two groups of survivors joined forces for the students’ trip to Florida state capital. As the students-turned-activists travelled to Tallahassee, Florida, to meet with lawmakers, they were joined by four of the survivors of the Pulse nightclub shooting.
An assault rifle similar to the one used in the Parkland shooting was used in the mass shooting of June 12, 2016, which left forty-nine dead and fifty-three injured in Pulse nightclub situated in Orlando, Florida.
The Palm Beach Post published a photo of the survivors of the separate attacks hugging as they boarded a bus.
Students who survived the Florida school shooting met survivors of the Pulse Nightclub shooting before boarding buses to head to the state capitol to demand action on gun reform. pic.twitter.com/6afZtJMViu
— AJ+ (@ajplus) February 20, 2018
CBS Miami reports that one of the Pulse survivors offered words of encouragement saying: “Y’all got this. Y’all strong. Make sure your voices are heard.”
Cameron Kasky Takes On Marco Rubio
Another pioneer of the #NeverAgain movement Cameron Kasky spoke to Anderson Cooper in the days following the Parkland shooting. He told Cooper that the time for frivolous talk is over.
Referring to the refusal of gay customers in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case in Colorado, Kaskey said: “There’s a section of this society that will just shrug this off and send their thoughts and prayers, but will march for hours when they have to bake a rainbow wedding cake.”
The teen also took on anti-LGBT+ senator Marco Rubio in the CNN Town Hall saying he and Governor Rick Scott appeared to be “the only people who don’t care”.
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