Students declare ‘never again’
Teens to organize march in push for stricter gun laws
PARKLAND — The students of a Florida school where 17 people were killed last week said Sunday they are using their anger and sorrow as motivation to spark change. Their message: “Never again.” As the teens gathered Sunday at a park not far from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where 14 classmates and three educators were killed Wednesday, the picnic tables under the gazebo became their makeshift headquarters to continue their campaign against gun violence.
Munching on powdered doughnuts and pizza at the park, the students led chants of “Action now!” and held up poster boards
with messages such as “Gun violence is domestic terrorism” and “Enough is enough.”
Students said they will organize nationwide marches for gun control next month and try to create a “badge of shame” for politicians who take money from the National Rifle Association and other gun rights groups.
Some of the teens appeared on multiple Sunday morning political shows to discuss their views and goals in the wake of the shooting.
“We are losing our lives while the adults are playing around,” Cameron Kasky, a junior, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “This is about us begging for our lives. This isn’t about the GOP, this isn’t about the Democrats, this is about us creating a badge of shame for any politicians accepting money from the NRA and using us as collateral,” said Kasky.
Kasky and other students said they are organizing “March for Our Lives” rallies in Washington, D.C., and other major U.S. cities on March 24 to demand action on gun violence.
Another student, Emma Gonzalez, said on ABC’s “This Week” that the students want to talk to political leaders, including President Donald Trump, about gun control.
“We want to give them an opportunity to be on the right side of this,” said Gonzalez.
Some students focused their anger at Trump, contending that his response to the attack has been needlessly divisive.
“You’re the president. You’re supposed to bring this nation together, not divide us,” said David Hogg, 17, on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Hogg was responding to Trump’s tweet Saturday that Democrats hadn’t passed any gun control measures during the brief time they controlled Congress with a supermajority in the Senate. Trump also alluded to the FBI’s failure to act on tips that the suspect was dangerous, while bemoaning the bureau’s focus on Russia’s role in the 2016 election.
Trump was at his Florida estate Sunday but did not mention the attack in a series of tweets. After more than a day of criticism from the students, the White House said the president would hold a “listening session” with unspecified students on Wednesday and meet with state and local security officials Thursday.
Nikolas Cruz, a 19-year-old who had been expelled from the school, is being held without bail in the Broward County Jail, accused of 17 counts of first-degree murder.
School and government records obtained Sunday show Cruz was diagnosed as developmentally delayed at age 3 and had disciplinary issues dating to middle school.
In February 2014, while in eighth grade, Cruz was transferred to a special school for children with emotional and behavioral issues. He stayed there until 10th grade, when he was transferred to Stoneman Douglas. A month after arriving, Cruz was written up for using profanity. Last year, Cruz was expelled.
On Sept. 28, 2016, an investigator from the Florida Department of Children and Families visited Cruz and his mother, Lynda Cruz, after he posted video on Snapchat showing him cutting himself. The report showed that Cruz had written a racial epithet against African-Americans and a Nazi symbol on his book bag, which his mother had forced him to erase. The investigator said Cruz was suffering from depression and on medication and had told Lynda Cruz he planned to buy a gun, but she couldn’t determine why.
She said he had been depressed after breaking up with a girlfriend who had been cheating on him, the investigator said. A school counselor told the investigator that Lynda Cruz had always tried to help her son and followed through on his therapy and medication, but the counselor was concerned about the youth’s desire to buy a gun.
A crisis counselor told the DCF investigator he had visited the school and that he did not believe Cruz was a danger to himself or others. The case was closed, with the investigator concluding that Cruz was receiving help from his mother and counselors, and “no other referrals or services were needed.”
After Lynda Cruz died in November, Cruz moved into the home of a teenage friend. The friend’s parents told the SunSentinel they had no idea the extent of Cruz’s issues. “We had this monster living under our roof and we didn’t know,” Kimberly Snead told the newspaper in an interview published Sunday. “We didn’t see this side of him.”
“We are losing our lives while the adults are playing around.” Cameron Kasky