March For Our Lives

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.” -1 Timothy 4:12. This verse adequately sums up what the March for Our Lives movement is all about. It’s so true when we say enough is enough. It’s time to take a stand because it’s gotten to the point that the youth are speaking out about the injustices of gun violence. This is a serious issue that pertains to all shootings—mass, school, against black lives, etc. These shouldn’t be happening, yet we seem to hear about them happening more than once every month. It’s become so common that we regard it as “just another school or mass shooting, another life taken by the hand of a gun, another act of violence caused by a gun.” This is not okay in any way, shape, or form. It has, is, & will not be okay. Every life matters— those who have passed before us, the lives we still have, those who possibly will pass in the future. It is time for people to speak out, demand for change, & take action to make a change. For without action, it is useless. People may say that because we are young & in high school or college, that we don’t know what we are talking about, are ignorant or naive or uneducated, and have no place to voice our opinions. Yet because there continues to be no change- change LONG OVERDUE- we will take it into our own hands & not stop until there is strict gun control. We do not need more guns. We need more votes which is something that is more than capable and achievable. It is SO highly true when it is said that every vote counts. James Corden states, “Mass shootings have become normal in this country. They are not normal at all for the rest of the planet. More guns lead to more mass shootings.” I can’t agree more. Link to this video: https://youtu.be/up1Wb2Q_WMk. I advise all watch because it talks about legitimately proven evidence about mass shootings happening in other parts of the world, how those countries made a change; and because of it, it hasn’t happened since. Japan has very strict, specific rules when it comes to gun control. Because of this, they have less than 10 gun deaths per year. What if we lived in a world where we didn’t have to fear death by a gun; be afraid to go to school, a movie theater, a concert; be afraid to be a certain race, gender, sexual orientation, religion? We could truly believe that we live in a world less of violence & evil and more in one of justice, love, hope. That can be our world. What will you, me, he, she, and we do to make it so?

I would like to take a moment to honor those 17 lives lost at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida as well as the many, too many lives also lost to all the other shootings as well. We pray they know that they are never forgotten in our hearts and in our minds. Their lives were precious, delicate, valuable, and honored. We will miss you all very much– whether we knew you personally or heard of your impact on those in this world.

Join us (students and families of America) on Saturday, March 24th at 12 pm to March For Out Lives. Find a local march near you at marchforourlives.com. You can make a change with so many like us alongside you. Vote. Register to vote. Sign the petition. Sign up for the event. “Take to the streets to demand that their lives and safety become a priority and that we end gun violence and mass shootings in our schools today.”

The link to the names and descriptions of these 17 people who passed is: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/02/15/586095587/17-people-died-in-the-parkland-shooting-here-are-their-names & https://www.google.com/amp/s/mobile.nytimes.com/2018/02/15/us/florida-school-victims.amp.html

I reiterate (from the link) the 17 people who have passed before us:

1) Alyssa Alhadeff- 14, a talented soccer player and creative writer with an amazing personality

2) Scott Beigel- 35, geography teacher and cross country coach as well as a hero who unlocked the door for students to come in and hide from the shooter

3) Martin Duque Anguiano- 14, very funny, outgoing, sweet, and caring

4) Nicholas Dworet- 17, swimmer with aims to be in the Olympics, a team captain and player, and hard-working

5) Aaron Feis- 37, assistant football coach, graduate from Stoneman Douglas, security guard, hero who died while shielding students from bullets

6) Jamie Guttenberg- 14, a beloved daughter and a sister who will be missed more than words could ever suffice

7) Chris Hixon- 49, wrestling coach, athletic director, hero who ran to the scene of the shooting and helped students get to safety, great man with great sense of humor who loved his family and had a military background

8) Luke Hoyer- 15, basketball player, fan of NBA, quiet yet happy, loving and sweet, loved his family, had a huge heart

9) Cara Loughran- 14, loved the beach, missed dearly by those who knew her especially her family

10) Gina Montalto- 14, member of the marching band’s winter guard, smart, loving, caring, and brightened up any room she walked into

11) Joaquin Oliver- 17, played basketball in a city Rex league, loved writing poetry

12) Alaina Petty- 14, a vibrant, determined young woman, loved by all who knew her

13) Meadow Pollack- 18, beautiful inside and out

14) Helena Ramsay- 17, smart, kind, thoughtful, highly determined in her academics, warm and soft demeanor

15) Alex Schachter- 14, played trombone in the marching band, sweetheart, wanted to make his parents happy, a son and brother

16) Carmen Schentrup- 16, a standout student, named Semifinalist for National Merit Scholarship

17) Peter Wang- 15, in JROTC program, hero who held door open for other students so they could escape

Rest in peace all we have lost in both America and around the world due to gun shootings.