Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Douglas student pleads for gun reform at music award show
Alex Moscou, a Marjory Stoneman Douglas student who survived the mass school shooting Feb. 14, spoke during the iHeartRadio Music Awards on Sunday night.
Rapper Big Sean introduced the sophomore as a lacrosse goalie and member of the drama club at the Parkland high school.
Wearing a blue “March For Our Lives” T-shirt, Moscou then talked about the shooting and gun reform.
“We are tired of hearing politicians send their thoughts and prayers to us and doing nothing to make the necessary changes to prevent this tragedy from happening again,” Moscou said. “School is a place where we should feel safe and if those elected to represent us won’t do what’s right to keep us safe then we’re going to be too loud for them to ignore.”
Moscou went on to talk about the upcoming “March For Our Lives” event in Washington, D.C. Students from his school and the New York-based nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety are organizing the March 24 demonstration. There are more than 600 sister marches and events happening around the country including in Parkland, Miami Beach, Coral Springs and Boca Raton.
“We are marching on March 24 in Washington, D.C. for all our fellow students and for the victims and survivors of gunfire in every community from New Orleans to Chicago, Baltimore or Detroit. Wherever you are, we hope you will join us,” he said. “This will be a march for our lives. We are MSD strong.”
Afterward, he joined Big Sean in introducing rapper Eminem, who slammed the NRA in his ensuing performance.
On Twitter, Moscou shared that he was “so thankful and honored to have been able to speak in front of so many amazing people.”
The awards show, which took place at The Forum in Inglewood, California, featured some of the biggest names in music, including Miami’s Camila Cabello and DJ Khaled.
Model Hailey Baldwin also gave a shout-out to the Parkland school at the awards show, wearing a black T-shirt that read “Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.”
Other celebrities including Jimmy Fallon and George and Amal Clooney have said that they would take part in the Parkland school-led march. The couple pledged a $500,000 donation for the event, as did Oprah Winfrey, who has called the Parkland students “warriors of the light.”
Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade has pledged $200,000, and last week the cast of ABC sitcom “Modern Family” said that they’re also supporting the event.