March for Our Lives

  

 

As soon as I heard the Parkland students were organizing this march I knew I would be there, at least locally.  How could I not? People are dying every single day because of guns - on the streets, in the classroom, in movie theaters, at work, at church, at home.

Because lack of laws.
Because our representatives in Washington care more about the balance in their bank account than any of our lives.

Fuck all that.

I've said this before in past blogs and I'll say it again because sadly I think it is very true, It is only a matter of time until someone I know/you know, someone I love/you love, or even myself/yourself is shot by a maniac who has easy access to guns. If that doesn't terrify you then something is wrong. 

If you know me, you know that I hate guns. I am as anti-gun as you can get. But you would also know that I understand people want guns to protect themselves and I'm fine with that when they are kept in their own home. I'm not as keen on the whole concealed carry nonsense because I can't think of a single time that has gone well. It's usually a story about the person not even using the gun, the gun going off accidentally (remember the Cracker Barrel incident in Sanford? Mmhmm.), or them trying to be the hero and making the situation worse. No thanks. I'm of the opinion that more guns do not mean less crime. I'm also of the opinion that NO ONE needs any kind of assault rifle. I can at least understand gun enthiasts and their desire for a pistol or shot gun but there is no good argument for owning an assault rifle. Period. 

Many of the conservatives, NRA members, Republicans, etc. just assumed that this whole march and the whole movement brought on by the Parkland students was to ban all guns because they don't actually listen to what they are saying or trying to change. They want, just like the majority of America, gun reform. 

reform: make changes in (something, typically a social, political, or economic institution or practice) in order to improve it. 

Yeah, that doesn't sound like a ban to me. Who isn't for making it better on either side of the debate? Whether you love guns or hate them, don't you want gun laws to be the best they can be? I don't have the perfect answers to what that consists of but I think we should certainly look at everything. My own Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy introduced a bill to allow federal gun research which I can't believe hasn't already been ongoing. I think we can learn a lot from other countries such as Japan, Australia, and the UK on how they deal with guns as they have far less mass shootings and gun related incidents in general. I fully support background checks, mental assessments, and long waiting periods before you can obtain a firearm. I also support the parts of the new Florida gun bill that raises the minimum age to 21 and banning bump stocks. The part of the bill that arms school employees is absolutely ridiculous. I know several teachers personally and none of them have any interest in being armed in a classroom and shouldn't have to be. The bill doesn't ban assault weapons which is understandable considering Rick Scott was listed, until recently, as a speaker at an NRA conference coming up in May. I'm looking forward to voting for a new governor amongst many many other government positions. Byeeee!

I am so impressed by the Parkland students. They have been able to succeed in a way that no one ever has on the gun debate. They are incredible organizers and activists and for once I'm not so scared of what the future holds. They have truly inspired not only me but an entire nation! If you're not behind them on this long but hopeful journey for change you are on the wrong side of history. 

*   *   *

A couple days before the March I got all my sign supplies together and brainstormed what I wanted to say. I decided to keep it simple and write the name of most of the shooting victims killed since Columbine. I say "most" because I'm sure there were other ones that didn't show up in my research as "mass shooting" means four or more people are killed not including the perpetrator.  I also included the city, state, and year of each one. It was emotional writing all of the names down knowing these were real people with families and friends and dreams that were all taken far too soon. What really shook me was when I got to the years 2016-2018 and FOUR out of the last six mass shootings were in Florida. I wrote down a lot of names but so many more were injured or witnessed a shooting and are forever changed. I'm not sure how as a country we forget that, which is why I wanted it to be very clear. 

It was not my first rodeo. This marks my 4th march in a year, you know,  since Trump's been President. I know the drill. I know where to park and where to meet and what to wear and mostly what to expect. 

Women's March                          Orlando 8,000  / Washington D.C. 500,000+  / Worldwide 7M

March for Science                      Orlando 1,000   / Washington D.C. 100,000   / Worldwide 1M+

Women's March Anniversary     Orlando 10,000 / Washington D.C. 10,000+   / ?

March For Our Lives                  Orlando 25,000 / Washington D.C. 200,000+ / ?

The March For Our Lives event in Orlando was a little different for a few reasons. One of which is that we all met on the NE side of Lake Eola rather than the usual amphitheater. There was a stage set up near the Robinson/Eola intersection. When I arrived the crowd was already really big. Lauren and I had to keep texting each other our locations in order to find the other one. We walked around, used the facilities, and eventually found a spot in the shade to enjoy the speakers. Some of the speakers we could hear perfectly fine and others we couldn't hear at all. I'm not sure if it was due to audio issues or if some voices just didn't carry as well through the large crowd. I loved that there were a mix of speakers in all forms of race, gender, and age. We heard from a Chief of Police to Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy to teachers and several teenagers. A local band (I think they are called Picnic although I can't find anything on them on the internet otherwise I would link to their site.) played a cover of John Lennon's 'Imagine' as everyone made their way to the streets. It was incredibly moving.  

All past marches were marched around Lake Eola but I liked that this one took to the streets. It took quite awhile for Lauren and myself to shuffle out of Lake Eola but when we did it was so freeing.  I think to really get a point across you have to be a disruption, and we certainly were. I wonder how long all those cars on side streets had to wait for us to pass by. I'm not sure if it was because we were on the streets or if it was because of the march's subject but there was a very heavy police presence. We chanted along with the crowd, we held up our signs, and we took in the moment. We walked down Robinson, took a left on Orange, went right by Marco Rubio's office, and ended at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts - 1.1 miles to be exact. 

As Lauren and I walked back to our cars we were exhausted, hot, and in need of something refreshing when she had the best idea to stop into The Pop Parlour for some popsicles which just so happened to be the best way to end a satisfying and successful march.

Thanks to Lauren for always standing up for what's right with me.
Thanks to Orlando for showing up like you've never shown up before. 

Thanks to every single one of you who also marched or donated to the cause.
This isn't over by a long shot but what an impressive start. 

 

 

 

The following Orlando March photos were NOT taken by me but I really wanted to share them because they are all so important. I have kept the owner's name on all the public photos I found via Instagram so the owners receive proper credit. All other photos are taken from the links below. 

Orlando March photos: NSM Today, Orlando Weekly, Orlando Sentinel

All of these photos were screenshot from either people I follow or articles I read. Again, I have kept handles in place to give proper credit for each photo. All other photos were pulled from these websites: BuzzFeed, BuzzFeed (Again), Daily Mail

"One of my best friends was shot not far from here." - Paul McCartney