Members of Congress and Donald Trump have been standing around offering meaningless words of condolences, but the students who faced a disturbed young man with a legally purchased AR-15 semi-automatic rifle understand what action should look like. They are calling out the empty politician suggestions for what they are—useless. Instead, these young people have taken up the mantle of change.
Students Emma Gonzalez, Cameron Kasky, David Hogg, Alex Wind, and Jaclyn Corin joined NBC’s Meet the Press host, Chuck Todd, to talk about their plans to mobilize in the wake of a deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high School in South Florida. They know exactly what they want from the country’s Legislative and Executive branches. One of the students said that they are going to take full advantage of the opportunity before them:
‘Attention is on us now.’
Senator James Lankford (I-VT) told the Meet the Press host that he would like to see improvements in the background check system for purchasing firearms:
‘All the warning signs were missed in the Florida shooting.’
JROTC students at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida describe how they protected students from deadly shooting by shielding them with kevlar mats. https://t.co/rHgQy4f3f0 pic.twitter.com/bvOlw7nncK
— ABC News (@ABC) February 16, 2018
Todd weighed into Donald Trump’s response to the Florida high school shooting, wondering if those in the Republican party might be sensing an opening in the 2020 presidential election. The host said:
‘Will this latest controversy be the one that does Trump in?’
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) was also a guest on Meet The Press. He said that President Barack Obama was in a “difficult position” when he was face with the Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump’s predecessor did not want to appear to swing the election for Hillary Clinton. Sanders continued:
‘Maybe (Obama) should have done more (on the Russian attack on the U.S. election.)
“We call BS”
Students send strong message to US lawmakers for tougher gun laws after 17 people died in Florida school shooting https://t.co/8ow6yEQLa5pic.twitter.com/vWTVUseGjm
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) February 18, 2018
This video shows the five Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Meet the Press:
WATCH: Five students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School join #MTP this morning to talk about their message to members of Congress and President Trump – and what they expect when they return back to school. pic.twitter.com/BwYRYK8faU
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) February 18, 2018
Featured Image via Getty Images/Mark Wilson
