It’s been a week since the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., that left 17 people dead. And in that short amount of time, the teenage survivors have started a movement to turn up the pressure on lawmakers for gun control reforms.
Florida State Representative Jared Moskowitz says we shouldn’t be surprised by how quickly they mobilized.
“This is what America looks like,” he said. “This is how we’ve brought major change in this country before. Groups have risen up and demanded the system change. It just so happens that it’s kids. Maybe we’re not used to that...but if the adults in the room are failing, then let’s listen to our children.”
On Tuesday, just days after the shooting, Florida lawmakers voted down a motion to take up a bill that would ban assault rifles, reflecting the state’s historical reluctance to enact gun control reforms.
“Florida is, unfortunately, the Petri dish for the NRA,” says Moskowitz.
The legislator urged President Trump to live up to his campaign promise and make America great again. He said the commander-in-chief can’t use pushback from Congress as an excuse for not getting things done.
“Just sign an executive order and ban bump stocks,” he said. “Just sign an executive order and deal with background checks.”
The tech-savvy teenagers of Parkland have leveraged social and traditional media to mobilize people across the country. They’ve organized a national “March for our Lives” protest for March 24.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/florida-state-legislator-partisanship-on-gun-control-wont-cut-it).
The world's number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 has surpassed 40 million.
Oregon Governor, Kate Brown, joined Cheddar to discuss the state's 20 plus years of voting-by-mail. Brown assures that the process is safe and secure.
A trio of scientists is championing a controversial alternative to coronavirus lockdowns in a 500-word document called the Great Barrington Declaration, which is stirring up significant backlash from other public health experts.
President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden showed striking differences in temperament and views in dueling televised town halls.
Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris is suspending in-person events until Monday after two people associated with the campaign tested positive for the coronavirus.
Amy Coney Barrett has said repeatedly at her confirmation hearings that she’d be her own judge if she’s confirmed to the Supreme Court.
Facing public skepticism about rushed COVID-19 vaccines, U.S. health officials are planning an extra layer of safety scrutiny for the first people vaccinated when shots become available.
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett has spent a long day batting back Democrats' tough questioning at her Senate confirmation hearings.
Al Harington, founder of Viola Cannabis and former NBA player, joined Cheddar to discuss what a Biden/Harris administration would mean for the cannabis industry.
The Federal Reserve juicing money into local budgets through the Municipal Liquidy Facility was unprecedented, but a growing number of advocates for a more progressive, proactive Fed, is that it didn't go far enough.
