| February 22nd, 2018

Parkland Rally: Students take a world changing trip to the Florida Capital

By: journeymagazine

By| Eboni Walker

Today students on the high school, middle school and collegiate level flooded the Florida Capital, both inside and out in support of victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. This rally was one of the many acts Parkland students took in order to force legislators and lawmakers to change gun control laws.

Approximately 100 students from Parkland arrived in Tallahassee last night, on a mission to face lawmakers. A number of students had busy schedules that began on Tuesday night by attending a Legislature meeting, along with parents and teachers. However, students were heartbroken when state Legislature voted 71-36 against considering a ban of sales on assault weapons.

Instead a discussion on the health risk of pornography was taken up. This decision only enraged those in attendance and added more fuel to their fire.

This morning, Parkland students left the Donald L Tucker civic center, where they had spent the night getting a minimum amount of sleep, marching to the Capital. Upon arrival, students were met with hundreds of supporters from across the country.

“I spent three days driving from California to be here today,” said Shelly Godfroy, a social peace activist. “Wherever there is a cause that is important to me, I go. The fact that the students are coming out so strong themselves, who better to have their voice heard and supported, then the students themselves? So, it is well worth me drive across the country to be here today.”

One by one, students read off speeches and poems over the mic that they had prepared the previous night, to those crowded around the capital. “The NRA is murdering me,” said Rachel P., a sophomore at Stoneman Douglas HS.

“The NRA is murdering you, our families and our friends. We are not numbers on a page destined to be statistics. We are people, and we are the change. We are the change!” Promoting their ‘Never Again’ movement, students shut down all accusations of them being possible actors operated by the Democratic Party for political gain.

Students in other states showed their support from California to Washington D.C by staging walkouts in union. There will be a second gun-control rally, known as “March for Our Lives” held on March 24th. “They must never forget their rage,” a tearful Godfroy said. “If they do this then they will go far. And I know they will.”