Teens who marched to end gun violence are registering to vote

Young people across the nation have amplified calls to end gun violence since a gunman killed 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Fla., on Valentine’s Day. Now, they’ll vote.

Teens and 20-somethings have created Vote for Our Lives, a Coloradobased sister organization to March for Our Lives that has coordinated more than 30 events across the nation focused on signing up young people to vote.

The group announced the national initiative at the Columbine Memorial at Robert F. Clement Park in Littleton on Monday. This is also where the first event will be held on April 19, a day before the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting. Events will follow in different cities leading up to a final drive in Parkland ahead of the November midterm election.

Beyond signing up new voters and motivating them to cast ballots, the group also will push young people to vote out politicians who accept money from special interest groups. It will educate voters about where their representatives stand on gun policies and where they get money from.

The teens wore buttons and shirts declaring “Never Again.”

Kathryn Adams, 19, dressed as Founding Father James Madison, declaring that the Second Amendment was drafted with muskets — not assault rifles — in mind. Kaylee Tyner, a 16-yearold junior at Columbine High School, wore a denim jacket with “What have we learned” spread across the back in white paint.

“We have to grow up watching more mass shootings happen and asking ourselves why this keeps happening,” Tyner said.

Sam Craig, the organization’s executive director and Chatfield Senior High student, said the group is non-partisan, supporting Republicans, Democrats and Independents who don’t accept money from special interest groups.

He called out Colorado’s Republican Sen. Cory Garner for accepting $3.8 million from the National Rifle Association and said the teens will advocate to vote him, as well as other representatives who have done the same, out of office.

In a symbolic move during the announcement, 16year-old Anna Pierce registered to vote — although she won’t be able to cast a ballot until she’s 18.

Craig said it proved difficult to find someone who was not already signed up. Many of the people he asked had already done so in the weeks of walkouts and marches following the Parkland shooting.

But there’s still work to be done, he said. During the last presidential election, only 61.4 percent of eligible voters showed up at the polls, according to the Pew Research Center. Additionally, he said more needs to be done to increase registration rates in the South and rural areas.