Emma Gonzalez Is the Hope We Need to Revolutionize Gun Control

Emma Gonzalez. Remember that name, because she ultimately will save lives. The 18-year-old is a survivor of the mass shooting that senselessly occurred on Feb. 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fl, leaving 17 people dead.

When most shootings occur, ring-wingers are quick to snap at anyone who brings up talk about restricting guns, using the old, too common, phrase “Now’s not the time to talk about gun control.” What conservative, gun-loving, people are starting to realize is that they’re messing with the wrong school. These Parkland high school students have had enough, saying “we are going to be the last mass shooting.”

Emma Gonzalez and her classmates are leading the charge to take back their schools and shine the light on the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the millions they contribute to political leaders. They’re not waiting one more minute for someone to step up to the NRA, republicans, and President Donald Trump. This is their time and it’s invigorating to know these teenagers will make a difference.

Emma gave a speech on Saturday at a rally in Fort Lauderdale in front of the Broward County Federal Courthouse that placed her as the face of gun control. In an emotional and powerful speech, Emma spoke directly to Trump, saying: “If the president wants to come up to me and tell me to my face that it was a terrible tragedy, and how it should never have happened, and maintain telling us how nothing is going to be done about it, I’m going to happily ask him how much money he received from the National Rifle Association,” she said, adding: “But hey, you want to know something? It doesn’t matter, because I already know: $30 million. … To every politician who is taking donations from the NRA, shame on you!”

Emma and her classmates are leading a nationwide demonstration on March 24 called the “March for Our Lives.”

On March 24 we will take the streets of Washington DC and our communities across the country to #MarchForOurLives. Sign up at https://t.co/2m7ItdfFjV pic.twitter.com/yokyEdj7Jq

— March For Our Lives ☮️🟧 (@AMarch4OurLives) February 18, 2018

Several more rallies, marches, and walkouts are also in the works including a 17-minute, nationwide walkout by teachers and students on March 14. On April 20, the anniversary of the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado that left 12 students and one teacher dead, The Network for Public Education is also hosting a day of walkouts, sit-ins and other events on school campuses, according to the Daily News.

In an interview with The New York Times, Emma says: “This is my whole world now…I cannot allow myself to stop talking about this.” She added: “Everybody needs to understand how we feel and what we went through, because if they don’t, they’re not going to be able to understand why we’re fighting for what we’re fighting for.”