Teen survivors of the school shooting massacre in Florida last week are calling for a march on Washington to demand action on gun control.
Student organizers of the protest told ABC News’ “This Week” Co-Anchor Martha Raddatz on Sunday that they are determined to use protests and political action to make the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, Florida, a turning point in the national debate over gun control.
“People keep asking us, what about the Stoneman Douglas shooting is going to be different, because this has happened before and change hasn’t come?” Cameron Kasky, an 11th-grader told Raddatz. “This is it.”
Called “March for Our Lives,” the demonstration in Washington is to be on March 24, according to Kasky and four of his classmates whom Raddatz also interviewed — Emma Gonzalez, David Hogg, Alex Wind and Jaclyn Corin.
In addition to the march in Washington, the organizers also plan protests in other cities around the country.
“This isn’t about the GOP,” Kasky said. “This isn’t about the Democrats.”
“Any politician on either side who is taking money from the NRA is responsible for events like this,” the high school junior said of the shooting on Feb. 14 that killed 17 students and teachers at the school. “At the end of the day, the NRA is fostering and promoting gun this gun culture.”
Kasky said the point is to “create a new normal where there’s a badge of shame on any politician who’s accepting money from the NRA.”
Gonzalez added that the student activists from Parkland want to have conversations about guns with President Donald Trump, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Gov. Rick Scott, also a Republican.
“We want to give them the opportunity to be on the right side of this,” she said.
Raddatz asked Gonzales what she would say to other students around the country to encourage them to join the protest.
The high school senior said all students should realize that a school shooting could happen anywhere.
“This can very quickly happen to them,” Gonzalez said. “They need to join us, and they need to help us get our message across.”
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