Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Teens get harsh civics lesson
Who says high school students don’t receive a solid public education these days?
No one can dispute the healthy lessons on American politics and public debate the #NeverAgain students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have received in the wake of tragedy.
The students want to ban the kind of assault weapon used to kill 17 schoolmates and faculty and injure 17 others. They learned how difficult that is when U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., responded in a town hall meeting by asking, incredulously, if they really want to ban more than 200 types of guns.
The students marched on Tallahassee to demand politicians consider their cause. They learned what they were up against when state representatives debated the idea of putting an assault weapon ban in a bill for less than three minutes before voting against even doing that.
The students asked innocent questions to focus
their cause, such as, “How much is a life worth?” They then saw how much the NRA contributes to politicians, starting with Rubio’s $3.3 million from the gun-lobbying group, and learned the dollar cost.
The students, so used to dealing with grade pressure, learned about grades that matter in the real world, too. Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s A-plus rating by the NRA, for example, was awarded for years of support for laws such as no waiting period on assault weapon purchases and the “stand your ground” law.
The students met with President Donald Trump and heard his public endorsement of gun-control measures to the point that he lectured Sen. Pat Toomey on why nothing had been done to this point, “Because you’re afraid of the NRA.” They then received a lesson in influence as Trump met with the NRA and backtracked on gun control.
The students learned how the state Senate works upon hearing an unrecorded voice vote of yea or nay actually pass a two-year moratorium on selling AR-15 assault rifles like the one used in the school shooting. The Senquestions, ate then called for a recorded vote — names went public — and the measure was defeated 21-17.
The students say the killings at their school involve many issues, but change should start with an assault weapon ban. They see politicians eager to look at anything — arming teachers, mental health law enforcement responses, even video-game violence — rather than deal with an assault weapon ban.
The students asked why nothing was done after the Orlando nightclub shooting and Fort Lauderdale airport shooting over the previous two years. But things were done. Before the Douglas shooting, the current legislative session had a proposal to allow more guns for more people in more public places including courthouses and airports.
The students did learn that a voice matters in American politics. They saw the Florida House and Senate pass the first guncontrol restrictions in more than 20 years by increasing the age limit and putting a three-day waiting period on guns. And they saw Scott sign it into law Friday.
The students tweet, as Emma Gonzalez did, “A gentle reminder that all we are aiming for here is stricter gun laws that make it harder for people to get guns (because it shouldn’t be easier than getting a drivers license) and the removal of Military Grade Weapons from Civilian Society. #BanAssaultRifles. #GunControlNow.”
They get responses like that from state Rep. Elizabeth Porter, speaking on the floor to her colleagues: “We’ve been told to listen to the children and do what the children ask. Are there any children on this floor? Are there any children making laws? Do we allow the children to tell us that we should to pass a law that says, ‘No homework?’ Or you finish high school at the age of 12 just because they want it so? No. The adults pass the laws because we have the age, we have the wisdom and we have the experience.”
Yes, the students have received much wisdom and life experience in the past few weeks from adults like Porter. With such sage words from her and others, these students must feel better educated on how 17 of their schoolmates and teachers were killed.
Students asked innocent questions to focus their cause, such as, “How much is a life worth?”