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US Anti-Gun Violence Youth Group Issues Manifesto

Kathleen Struck

   March for Our Lives, an [1]anti-gun violence youth group that formed
   after a mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida high school last year, has
   published a six-point manifesto urging politicians to control what the
   group calls "a national public health emergency."

   Citing a [2]daily toll of 100 lives lost to shootings, the group said,
   "Gun violence is destroying our generation."

   The incident at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018,
   left 17 people dead and several others wounded.

   "We believe it's time for a '[3]Peace Plan for a Safer America,'" the
   group wrote, describing the report's title. "The next President must
   act with a fierce urgency to call this crisis what it is: a national
   public health emergency. They must acknowledge that the level of gun
   violence in the U.S. is unprecedented for a developed nation--and only
   bold, new solutions can move the needle on the rates of gun injuries
   and deaths."

   The document asks that national leadership heed six "bold" steps:
     * Change the standards of gun ownership
     * Halve the rate of gun deaths in 10 years
     * Accountability for the gun lobby and industry
     * Name a director of gun violence prevention
     * Generate community-based solutions
     * Empower the next generation

   The first letter of each bullet point spells the word "change."

   "Among young people, gun violence has become a top cause of death,
   second only to drug overdoses," the report stated. "It has many root
   causes, including hate, poverty, and despair."

   The group proposes a national licensing and registry system, a ban on
   assault weapons, high-capacity magazines and "other weapons of war,"
   policies to disarm gun owners who pose a risk to themselves or others,
   and a national gun buy-back program "to reduce the estimated 265-393
   million firearms in circulation by at least 30%."

References

   1. https://www.voanews.com/gallery/students-walk-out-against-gun-violence
   2. https://www.voanews.com/student-union/florida-students-against-gun-violence-making-impact
   3. https://marchforourlives.com/peace-plan/

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