Parkland survivors release ‘peace plan’ to reduce gun violence
Proposal seeks to get support for gun control ahead of 2020 election
Survivors of the Parkland school shooting released a sweeping proposal Wednesday to address gun violence called the “Peace Plan for a Safer America.”
The plan seeks to drum up support ahead of the 2020 elections for an assault weapons ban, a national gun-buyback program, a federal firearms registry and other gun control measures.
“Policymakers have failed, so survivors are stepping up,” student activist David Hogg wrote on Twitter. “The (Peace Plan) is written by the generation that’s only ever known lockdown drills. But we will be the last.”
The proposal presented by the student group March for Our Lives envisions a transformation of gun ownership in America. Student activists want every presidential candidate to endorse the plan.
The Peace Plan for a Safer America is posted on the March for Our Lives website.
The organization formed after the Feb. 14, 2018, school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland that killed 17 students and staff.
Under the proposal, Americans would be required to obtain a license to own a gun, a process that would involve background checks, in-person interviews, personal references, gun-safety training, and a 10-day waiting period.
The plan calls for a mandatory “buyback” of assault weapons, the appointment of a gun violence prevention officer who reports directly to the president, automatic voter registration when Americans turn 18 and the creation of a Safety Corps to focus on the issue.
The goal is to halve the number of gun deaths and injuries in America in 10 years.
The gun debate is heating up in Florida after backto-back mass shootings claimed 31 lives earlier this month in Texas and Ohio.
Florida Democrats called for a special session to pass expanded gun background checks and a ban on highcapacity ammunition magazines, a request that was swiftly rejected by Republican leaders in the GOP-controlled state Legislature.
A petition drive seeks to put an assault weapons ban before Florida voters in the 2020 election.
Attorney General Ashley Moody, a Republican, is fighting the referendum, arguing the ballot language would be confusing to voters.
At least 60 percent of voters would have to approve the measure for the assault weapons ban to take effect.
A June Quinnipiac Poll found the level of support among Florida voters for banning the sale of assault weapons in the state was 59%.