A plea to end gun violence: ‘We have all had enough.’
Chairman [Jerrold] Nadler, Ranking Member [Doug]
Collins, and other members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to be here today to share my experience and perspectives on gun violence in America. My name is Aalayah Eastmond. I am a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
While it is an honor to be before you today, it is only because horrific events have compelled me. Next Thursday will mark exactly one year from the day that 17 of my fellow schoolmates and educators were shot and killed, 17 more injured. Thousands more — like me — were fortunate to walk away with our lives that day but we will never be free of the terror. Some will carry visible scars, but all of us were scarred emotionally, for the rest of our lives.
I was in my 4th period Holocaust history class. We were presenting our projects on hate groups found on college campuses. I could never have imagined my group partner Nicholas Dworet would’ve saved my life in moments to come. As we sat at our desks working on our computers after presenting our projects, we began to hear loud pops. When the gunman shot into our classroom, Nicholas Dworet was in front of me. The gunman’s bullets hit and killed him and Helena Ramsay.
As Nicholas fell, I matched his every movement and hid beneath his lifeless body as bullets riddled my classmates. I thought I was going to die.As I layed there, I begged God to please make it fast. When the shooter moved to another classroom, I rolled Nicholas off of me and placed his head on his arm so it wouldn’t be touching the cold ground.
My classmates pulled me behind a filing cabinet where I called my mom and my dad and said what I thought would be my last goodbyes. I told them how much I loved them, and asked that they please tell my brothers the same. I was so petrified that I began hyperventilating. My classmates had to cover my face so the shooter wouldn’t hear my cries and comeback.
I will never forget that day. What I saw. What I did. What I experienced. What happened to my classmates. I will never forget Nicholas Dworet who, in his death, protected me. He saved my life.
The effects of this shooting did not end on February 14th. Days later, our family experienced another tragedy: the stress from the shooting had taken such a toll on my mother’s body that she experienced a miscarriage. It is another painful, and permanent, reminder of that day that my family will endure the rest of our lives.
Gun violence ends thousands of American lives every year — it is a pervasive problem that extends well beyond highprofile school shootings. My family knew this pain long before Parkland. Fifteen years ago, in Brooklyn, N.Y., my uncle Patrick Edwards was shot in the back and killed. He was just 18 and had his whole life ahead of him.
I am asking you to give my generation the chance that he never had. Minority communities bear the heaviest burden of gun violence in this country. We know this as fact. Just a few weeks ago, a report was released showing that the life expectancy for African American men was reduced by four years, on average, because of gun violence. But this report didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know.
We have communities in this country where gun violence is an everyday occurrence, and the vast majority of those communities are majority minority. We have to do something to stop the gun violence that has become an everyday threat in those communities, including stopping the supply of crime guns and we must ensure that there is comprehensive criminal justice reform to address structural inequalities in the system.
I am here to tell you a simple truth. Our gun violence is now such an epidemic that anyone, anywhere, at any time can be affected. Rich or poor, white or black, young or old. All Americans are at risk, and that is an America in which none of us can or should take pride.
Since that horrible day, my classmates and I have been working tirelessly in support of sensible gun laws. I chose to get involved with the Brady Campaign’s Team ENOUGH, a group of young people dedicated to strengthening our nation’s gun laws and engaging in communities most impacted by everyday gun violence. I am just one of hundreds of thousands of students that came out at the March for Our Lives demanding change. We stand on the shoulders of local organizations and people that have been working on change for decades.
We are all working to make sure our stories are told and our voices are heard on the most important issue facing our generation. Our demand for sensible reforms crosses party lines, geographies, social classes, and racial divides.
We are the generation that will end gun violence. I implore you and your colleagues to pass legislation that will make us all safer by strengthening our nation’s gun laws. We must do all we can to avoid the tragedies we see every day in our nation due to gun violence.