On March 24, I was able to attend what’s being called one of the largest youth protests in U.S. history since the Vietnam War according to Associated Press: March For Our Lives.
Izzy Manzo / equinox staff
While I wasn’t able to attend the march in Washington, D.C., I went to Keene’s event, which also saw a massive turnout. It was so surreal to see hundreds of people in the community united against gun violence and demanding change because it was almost starting to feel like we as a country had become desensitized and compliant.
Gun reform seemed to come and go in cycles – a mass shooting would happen and national outrage would follow, as it should, but it would slowly die down after a couple of weeks.
I was starting to feel a little hopeless, so I can only hope that all of this action will amount to actual change. I understand that gun control legislation is not a simple process by any means, but I feel like people fail to remember that the Second Amendment was written in a time when a gun fired about one bullet per minute. I understand that people want to keep their guns, but there isn’t really a good reason for someone to own an AR-15, and if someone wants it that bad, it shouldn’t be easy to get one. It needs to be a process; getting a driver’s license shouldn’t be more time-consuming than getting a gun.
Izzy Manzo / equinox staff
The March For Our Lives website states that they’re working towards goals such as universal background checks, high-capacity magazine bans and assault weapon bans. According to ABC News, on the day of the marches, Florida Senator Marco Rubio said that “many other Americans do not support a gun ban,” and “view banning guns as an infringement on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens that ultimately will not prevent these tragedies.” He’s just proving my point by showing that he doesn’t get it. Those who marched in Keene or D.C. or anywhere else aren’t calling for a ban on all guns; we just want to go to school, the movies, the club and the airport and not have to worry about getting shot at.
Other solutions just won’t work at this point, and I personally don’t think that metal detectors or arming teachers or security guards will prevent a whole lot. It’s awful that we even have to think of these as possible solutions in the first place, but banning assault weapons is really the only rational choice we have left.
Izzy Manzo / equinox staff
I honestly have a lot of faith in this movement because those who organized it are our future. The woman who organized Keene’s march, Hannah Landry, goes to Keene High School, and it’s incredible to see her and so many other millennials make such a statement and get so much traction. Every sibling march was student-led, and there were more than 800 on March 24 according to CNN. The D.C. march alone had 800,000 people in attendance, surpassing the Women’s March that drew 440,000 people to the capital. It’s so incredible to know that students were the backbone of the event. I’ve never felt this hopeful that reform could actually happen. It previously seemed a nice thought that was out of reach, but I feel like it’s never been this close to becoming reality before. We’re finally speaking up and letting the world know that we have a voice and won’t stop until we can get the change we need.
People who are opposed to us have every right to fear us because we’ve gotten the ball rolling again. Silence is no longer an option, and we will do everything in our power to make it happen. When there are millions of voices from people who are fed up and are demanding change, nothing can stop them.
Izzy Manzo can be contacted at imanzo@kscequinox.com
