With the March for Our Lives, ‘we are fighting for your kids’
Marjory Stoneman Douglas student Jaclyn Corin delivered the following speech on March 16th at the Broward Workshop’s 10th Annual State of the County Forum.
I will never wake up on February 14th and feel the love generated by Valentine’s Day ever again. The universal day of admiration and compassion developed into something so catastrophic in a matter of seven minutes.
I will always remember hiding in a dark classroom, shaking beyond belief, even though I knew the shooter was on the other side of the campus.
I will always remember that I was in the freshmen building just 15 minutes before, delivering carnations to my fellow classmates.
I will always remember my mind constantly repeating “It could’ve been me, it could’ve been me.”
I will always remember my thoughts evolving into “It still can be me; the shooter hasn’t been caught yet. It still can be me.”
However, after the two longest hours of my life, I finally escaped Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school, ushered out by FBI agents and the SWAT team. I ran for my life with my hands above my head, letting out cries of happiness that I made it out alive, cries of fear that another shooter could be behind me, and cries of confusion, uncertain that this actually happened at my high school.
As we know, 17 Eagles never made it out that day, as they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. But those lives will not be lost in vain. I, along with several of my fellow classmates, have been doing everything we possibly can to make sure those lives will be remembered through common-sense gun laws that will safeguard my generation and generations to come.
People often wave us off because we are merely children, but we have managed to organize a march in Washington D.C., called the March for Our Lives. We have raised over $3 million for this March 24 event, not including the generous donations put toward the sibling marches all over the world. The massive protest will also include a series of performances and speeches by students from Stoneman Douglas and kids who have always been victimized by gun violence in inner cities. In accordance with the march, we have visited our state capital along with the nation’s capital to urge congressman to support a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and to advocate for strict universal background checks including closing gun show loopholes.
After the march we are not going anywhere. We will be creating a nonprofit organization encouraging voter education and registration, along with gun reform, of course. There are numerous outreach events planned for us to travel to high schools and communities around the country to share our story and values.
We understand that we are just kids and we understand that all of our demands might not become reality for a while, but we will not let them win. We will not let the perpetrators of mass shootings win. We will not let the National Rifle Association and its supporters win. And by the way, if your company is funded by the NRA, please, I beg of you, cut your ties.
Finally, we will not let the people who think this is only a mental health or schoolsafety issue win. Those are factors, yes, but the United States is facing an epidemic caused by guns — one that can be prevented but is constantly encouraged by those who value dollars over lives.
We are doing this for us. We are doing this for the victims of Columbine, Sandy Hook, and every other mass shooting. But most of all we are fighting for your kids and the kids of the future so they don’t grow up with the constant fear of getting shot at school, church, the movie theater, or a concert. We, the mass shooting generation, will stop at nothing to make our voices be heard and our wishes a reality. And with the love and support of people like you, our message will only grow stronger. Thank you.