Parkland shooting inspired boost in state gun laws in 2018
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Emma Gonzalez took the stage at the Washington, D.C., march for
6 minutes and 20 seconds, the length of time the shooting went on at the school on February 14. She also read the names of those who died. Photo by David Tulis /UPI |
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The view from above as demonstrators move down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington. Photo by Leigh Vogel/UPI | License Photo
Students, parents and teachers marched on the Capitol in support of gun restrictions and school safety. Photo by Leigh Vogel/UPI | License Photo
Paul McCartney and Billie Jean King join the demonstration in New York City. McCartney said, "One of my best friends was killed in gun violence right around here. So, it's important to me." He was referring to Beatles bandmate John Lennon. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI |
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Marchers dressed in white in New York hold up photos of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Demonstrators in New York carry American flags. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Crowds jammed the area around the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Photo by Leigh Vogel/UPI | License Photo
A tear falls from a protester's eye while listening to speakers in New York. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Young activists are pushing for changes to gun laws all over the United States, with support from parents, teachers and schools. Students have walked out of classrooms, held moments of silence and demaded action from lawmakers since the Parkland shooting. Photo by Leigh Vogel/UPI | License Photo
Protests took place in dozens of cities across the United States --
the biggest in Washington, D.C. Photo by Leigh Vogel/UPI | License Photo
A total of 843 related protests were planned for Saturday, at least one in every state and every continent except Antarctica Photo by Leigh Vogel/UPI | License Photo
Activists were calling for high-powered firearms like the AR-15 assault rifle used in the Parkland shooting to be outlawed. The student activists have also called for solutions such as bullet-proof glass in school windows and doors. Photo by Leigh Vogel/UPI | License Photo
Demonstrators surround a police car during the march in Washington. Photo by Leigh Vogel/UPI | License Photo
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., participates in the D.C. march. Photo by David Tulis /UPI | License Photo
Celebrities including Oprah Winfrey and George and Amal Clooney helped fund the march. Photo by David Tulis/UPI | License Photo
Common and Andra Day perform "Rise Up" to open the D.C. march. Photo by David Tulis /UPI | License Photo
Demi Lovato performs "Skyscraper" during the D.C. march. Photo by David Tulis /UPI | License Photo
About 20 speakers, most of them young, addressed a diverse crowd of supporters. Photo by Leigh Vogel/UPI |
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The crowds at the D.C. march included survivors or family members from other school shootings. Photo by Mark Wallheiser /UPI | License Photo
The teens in the movement are targeting the powerful National Rifle Association. Photo by Mark Wallheiser /UPI | License Photo
Ariana Grande performs "Be Alright" during the D.C. march. Photo by David Tulis /UPI | License Photo
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student David Hogg addresses the D.C. rally. Photo by David Tulis /UPI | License Photo
Thousands of young people, traveling from all over the country, participated in the D.C. march. Photo by David Tulis /UPI | License Photo
Naomi Wadler, 11, of Alexandria, Va., addresses the D.C. march. She
had led a walkout at her elementary school last month. "I’m here today to represent the African-American girls [killed by gun violence] who don’t always make the front pages of the newspapers," she said. Photo by David Tulis /UPI |
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Participants swallow up two police vans on a side street trying to make it to the D.C. march. Photo by Mark Wallheiser /UPI | License Photo
Participants crowd Constitution Avenue during the D.C. march. Photo by David Tulis /UPI | License Photo
Students from schools that experienced gun violence listen during the D.C. rally. Photo by David Tulis /UPI | License Photo
Thousands of people marched in solidarity in Los Angeles. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
Demonstrators crowded around City Hall in LA. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
At the
downtown Los Angeles rally, Mayor Eric Garcetti called it a historic day led by the nation's future leaders. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI |
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Many teenagers at the rallies said they are looking forward to voting as soon as they turn 18. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
Miley Cyrus performs "The Climb" during the D.C. march. Photo by David Tulis /UPI | License Photo
Demonstrators line Constitution Avenue in D.C. Photo by David Tulis/UPI | License Photo
Thousands marched in LA. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
Marchers move past Trump International Hotel and Tower at the New York demonstration. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Supporters of the march gather along Pennsylvania Avenue in D.C. Photo by Leigh Vogel/UPI | License Photo
Protesters demand action on access to guns at the D.C. march. Photo by David Tulis/UPI | License Photo
A young participant at the march at San Francisco City Hall. Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo
Supporters hang signs along the fence surrounding the Andrew Jackson Statue in Layfayette Square outside the White House. Photo by Leigh Vogel/UPI | License Photo
Protest signs line the fence. Photo by Leigh Vogel/UPI | License Photo
Families join the San Francisco protest. Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo
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Dec. 27 (UPI) -- When a teenager opened fire on students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida earlier this year, young survivors sought to make this mass shooting different. They worked to make their voices heard and change laws.
Seventeen people died on Valentine's Day -- 13 students and three faculty members.
The Parkland, Fla., shooting came nearly two decades after 13 people died at Columbine High School, five years after 27 mostly elementary school students died in Newtown, Conn., and months before 10 students died at Santa Fe High School in Texas.
In Parkland, the teen survivors were not satisfied with everyone's "thoughts and prayers." Declaring, via hashtag, #Enough and #NeverAgain, they rallied. Students around the world joined them. Policymakers, parents and celebrities supported them.
They marched for their lives, bringing more than 1 million people to Washington, D.C. -- and dozens of other locations throughout the country -- calling for stronger gun control.
Some states moved immediately to change laws.
"A lot of policies that we had been working on as a movement for years were pushed across the finish line because of Parkland," said Allison Anderman, managing attorney at the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
In the months since the Parkland shooting, 27 state legislatures passed 67 gun-control laws, the most in a single year since the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012, an analysis from the Giffords center indicates. The number is more than three times the 20 measures passed in 2017, The New York Times reported.
Of the gun-control measures passed, nine aim to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers, eight targeted bump stocks and other devices that increase firing speed, eight were extreme risk protection orders in which firearms can be confiscated from at-risk individuals, seven increased background checks, six tightened concealed carry laws and eight provide funding to urban gun violence prevention programs.
New Jersey passed the most measures, including a six-bill package previously vetoed by former Gov. Chris Christie. New Gov. Phil Murphy signed an extreme risk protection order act and laws on background checks, concealed carry permitting and magazine capacity.
In Florida, where students marched on the Capitol, Gov. Rick Scott signed into law a $400 million package of legislative reforms for school security, mental health and gun control. The legislation banned the use of bump stocks, increased the minimum rifle purchasing age from 18 to 21, and instituted a three-day waiting period on all firearm purchases.
A Democratic attempt to include an amendment banning all assault weapons was unsuccessful.
Oregon was the first state to enact gun restrictions after the Parkland shooting, banning firearm ownership for people convicted of domestic violence, even if the victim isn't a spouse, closing the so-called "boyfriend loophole."
In Rhode Island, Gov. Gina Raimondo signed an executive order allowing law enforcement agencies to consider "all red flags, including recent threats of violence made in person, in videos and on social media and take all available legal steps to remove firearms from any person who poses a threat to themselves or others." The state also banned bump stocks and passed an extreme risk protection order law.
In April, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott signed into law three bills that contain gun-control measures -- expanding background checks, banning bump stocks, limiting rifle magazines to 10 rounds and raising the age limit to buy firearms to 21. He also signed a bill to remove guns from people cited or arrested for domestic assault.
In Delaware, Gov. John Carney signed the Beau Biden Gun Violence Protection Act on April 30. Named for former Vice President Joe Biden's late son, the law allows police to seize weapons from those deemed a danger to themselves or others.
"This year, Americans of all ages and from all backgrounds demanded action from lawmakers to make communities safer from gun violence," Anderman said. "Legislatures responded by standing up to the gun lobby's repeated attempts to weaken gun laws and listening to people who want progress on this issue. These victories build on the lifesaving bills we've helped pass over the past few decades and because of this momentum, more Americans in all areas of the country will be better protected from gun violence."
On the federal level, President Donald Trump's administration announced Dec. 18 a ban on bump stocks.
The Giffords report, released Dec. 14, also said there was a drop in the number of measures loosening restrictions on guns after Parkland, a reduction by about half from 2017, from 19 to nine.
Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun-control group organized by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, said state lawmakers voted against 90 percent of legislation by the National Rifle Association. The organization also said it endorsed candidates in 43 midterm races against NRA-backed candidates, and 33 candidates who support gun-control won.