Parkland’s now-famous school shooting survivors hold town hall in Irvine
They became celebrities in a way no one would ever expect or want: for witnessing a shooting at their school that ended the lives of 17 people.
Ever since the shocking Valentine’s Day massacre earlier this year in Parkland, Fla., Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School survivors have been speaking out against gun violence.
This summer, they have taken their cause on the road, in a bus tour across the United States – visiting some 75 cities over two months to disseminate their call for stricter gun control laws.
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Among the 20 founders of “Never Again” are Emma Gonzalez, David Hogg, Ryan Dietsch, Cameron Kasky and Jaclyn Corin – whose now familiar faces regularly appear in the news.
On Saturday, July 21, the crew made a stop in Orange County, starting with a town hall at Christ Our Redeemer AME Church in Irvine, to be followed by a candlelight vigil and bonfire at the Huntington Beach Pier.
Taking the Irvine shift of their jam-packed itinerary, Hogg and Dietsch joined other young activists – including several from Orange County – on stage to discuss gun violence and how to curb it.
More than 1,000 attendees filled the auditorium, with an overflow of hundreds more in the lobby.
“This is not about swinging districts blue or swinging districts red,” Hogg said, “but about swinging then orange” – the color symbolizing gun reform. “Democrats take money from the NRA, too. We want to hold all politicians accountable.”
Clearly, however, most of the crowd leaned Democrat. Harley Rouda, who is running against longtime U.S. Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, was greeted with rousing applause upon arrival.
Dietsch recalled an anecdote about an awkward moment shared with Darrell Issa. While visiting the Capitol in Washington, D.C., Dietsch and his cohorts crossed paths with the Republican representative from San Diego.
“He started to quote the Second Amendment – incorrectly,” Dietsch said. “Then he ran ahead of our group to avoid getting on the same elevator.”
The biggest misconception about the group’s mission is that the activists “want to take away people’s guns,” Dietsch said.
“We’re not trying to take guns from hunters but from domestic abusers,” he said.
Following up, Hogg added, “The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a universal background check.”
Traveling around the country and speaking with leaders on both sides of the political aisle, Hogg said, helps him to understand how deeply gun ownership is embedded in American culture – especially in rural states such as Alaska.
When asked by an audience participant about the “mixed message” of marksmanship classes in Orange County high schools, Hogg said he supports “teaching gun safety.”
Others on the panel disagreed. “I would rather be taught history than how to use guns,” said Chicago resident Arieyanna Williams.
In answer to concerns addressed by Williams, Hogg surmised that the Parkland tragedy has received more attention than inner-city violence “because most of us are upper-middle-class white kids.”
“It is important to use our voice to advocate for communities of color,” he said.
Dietsch pronounced Irvine’s gathering a success – starting with the fact that people showed up.
“If we can create these spaces for conversation,” he said, “we are already doing 300 percent more than Congress.”