While politicians hold the power in enacting gun reform, activists are the lifeblood behind the movement itself. Activists will force hyper-polarized politicians to set aside their difference to make a change.
Lucee Laursen
Last week the #RoadToChange Tour stopped in three locations in Iowa: Cedar Rapids, Marion, and Sioux City. The #RoadToChange Tour is led by a group of Stoneman Douglas High School students who survived the well-known Parkland school shooting. This astoundingly horrific experience has rightfully given many Stoneman Douglas students the ability to become the mouthpiece for the gun-reform campaign. Despite their young age, these students have been able to tactically start a revolution throughout our nation.
I can remember the first time I heard Emma González speak to a national audience. One thing became abundantly clear: González was not choosing to speak out against gun violence as some sort of personal gain. Rather, she was doing so because she envisions a future in which students no longer have to fear for their lives because of gun violence.
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Now, it may seem like most people who speak out against gun violence could not possibly be doing so for their own personal gain. Sadly, that is not the case. Many politicians from both sides of the aisle continue to use gun violence as a way to garner more votes and money.
Some Republicans, such as Iowa’s Steve King, completely hide behind the NRA and cling to the Constitution to justify their inability to talk about gun reform. Quite honestly, this is pathetic. Whether someone is pro or against gun ownership in America, we should all at least agree that recent events have proven that people need to go through a background check before owning a gun. King’s website says, “I am committed to strictly interpreting the Constitution in light of its original meaning and the common understanding of the intentions of our Founding Fathers who wrote and ratified this founding document. Our Constitution is timeless and is just as legitimate today as when it was first written.”
Sadly, King’s stiff and rigid interpretation of the Constitution has led him to lose sight of what is most important — the safety of our children. I think our Founding Fathers would agree.
On this issue, Democrats seem to fall on the moral high ground. They have been calling for gun reform for decades now. And though we have yet to see a major change in gun policy, at least their heads are in the right place, right? Wrong. Democrats have also had opportunities to discuss solutions that would, hopefully, result in less gun violence, but they have refused to reach across the aisle to do so.
As voters, we should insist that those who represent us stop making gun violence a partisan issue. This is exactly what the #MarhcForOurLives Tour is doing. The members are creating a civic conversation. Gonzalez said, “We’re not trying to rake away your guns — we are here to ask, ‘Hey, don’t you think we should have stricter regulation on them?” This rhetoric is precisely why the #MarchForOurLives Tour has and continues to be so successful.
Activists such as the Parkland survivors have different motives from those of politicians. Politicians will always have to constantly be thinking about their next election. Grabbing votes and donations will always be at the forefront of their minds — this is irrefutable. Dedicated activists however, are different. They are able to fight for causes many times just because they believe it is the right thing to do. The Parkland survivors and gun-reform activists are not fighting so they can win an election. They are fighting so that children in the future won’t go to school in fear. This is how they will win.