Page 4 - ARUBA TODAY

A4 U.S. NEWS
Monday 26 March 2018

Anguished students take aim at gun laws, next election

By MARTHA IRVINE Rev. Martin Luther King. nized this movement, he
AP National Writer When she spoke, he was and others say. Now they
Charlie Goodman looked moved to tears. are vowing to get young
at the massive crowd "This is truly a revolution," voters registered and send
around him, the largest said Goodman, a sopho- a message in upcoming
youth-led protest in Wash- more at Marjory Stone- elections.
ington since the Viet- man Douglas High School "We have a lot of people
nam War era. He listened in Parkland, Florida, where who are inspired," said Ko-
to people speak about 17 people were gunned bey Lofton, a student from
toughening gun laws. They down last month. "We can Chicago's South Side who
included some of his peers really change the world." also traveled overnight to
at the Florida high school The marches unified hun- Washington on Friday with
who've sparked this move- dreds of thousands of 12 busloads of fellow stu-
ment, as well as the 9-year- people in cities across the dents and adults.
old granddaughter of the country and have galva- Before the march, Lofton
American students and expats hold signs calling for stricter gun
control during in a solidarity rally with 'March For Our Lives' on
the "Place des Nations" in front of the European headquarters of
the United Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland, Saturday, March 24,
2018.
(Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

and his fellow Peace War- have to fight for that seat
riors at North Lawndale Col- at the table."
lege Prep High School had "We have to force them to
already met with the Flori- do something," agreed Lof-
da students — young peo- ton, who was referring to
ple from different worlds, elected officials, including
but both impacted by gun President Donald Trump.
violence. The White House issued a
Now they and other stu- statement about the stu-
dents across the country dent-led march and also
are planning voter reg- pointed to the president's
istration drives through support for the Stop School
the fall. Voter registration Violence Act, which au-
groups, including Rock thorized grants to schools
the Vote, Voto Latino and to bolster security and at-
HeadCount, a nonpartisan tempts to improve back-
group that usually focuses ground checks.
on registering people at But Cameron Kasky, a stu-
concerts and music festi- dent leader at Marjory
vals, also helped mobilize Stoneman Douglas High
teams at Saturday's march- School, says the current
es in 30 U.S. cities and have laws and legislation don't
created a registration tool go far enough.
kit for high school students. The students, he said, are
"I've never felt the energy demanding an assault
that I felt," HeadCount weapons ban, prohibition
spokesman Aaron Ghitel- of sales of high-capacity
man said of the registration magazines and universal
training that preceded the background checks. But
march in Washington. In a Kasky said this won't hap-
matter of hours, he said the pen if his peers across the
groups registered nearly nation don't get more in-
5,000 people, many of volved. "The youth of Amer-
them millennials. ica needs to step up and
"More young people are re- start voting. (You) see the
alizing that we can have a statistics. It's an embarrass-
voice and we can have a ing turnout," Kasky said Sun-
seat at the table," he said. day on the CBS program
"But people realize that you "Face the Nation."q