Security issues alter Parkland tour event
A Utah movie theater has pulled out of a deal to host a town hall on gun reform by the Parkland school shooting survivors over concerns the event could escalate “into a potentially contentious situation,” according to news reports.
A pro-gun group called the Utah Gun Exchange had encouraged its members to attend the Saturday event in South Jordan, Utah, the Daily Beast reported.
The group has been tailing “The March For Our Lives: Road to Change” organizers in a “military-style armored vehicle” while the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High group is on a 20-state tour focused on registering young voters and campaigning for an end to gun violence, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
The cross-country trek is the next phase of the movement borne of the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School.
Onboard are the #MSDstrong band of changemakers determined to encourage the youth vote and upend the midterm elections. The dominant mantra: “We will vote you out.”
“We are very disappointed but will work together with our partners on this event to accommodate this last-minute change,” organizer Madalena McNeil told The Salt Lake Tribune.
The new location for the Saturday evening event has not been announced, but shooting survivor Jacyln Corin on Wednesday night tweeted: “We are getting a new venue! No worries!”
The student activists especially wanted to hold the event in the district of Republican Rep. Mia Love, who faces a tough midterm bid for re-election and whom they’ve called out for accepting donations from the National Rifle Association, according to the newspaper.