A group of students staged a protest outside the White House on Monday in the wake of deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that has spurred calls for stricter checks for gun buyers.
The shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, carried out by a former student, killed 17 people, triggering calls for measures to curb gun violence, and change laws to that effect.
The calls include changes in laws in a way that helps enforce controls over sale of guns to individuals like Nicholas Cruz, the alleged perpetrator of Parkland Schools shooting spree. Cruz used assault-style AR-15 rifle in his in his shooting rampage against students and teachers of the school.
The survivors of the Parkland school and friends and families of victims have been protesting and also demanding restraining measures to minimize the possibility of gun shootings at school.
Named as ‘Never Again,’ the campaign is planning a March for Our Lives, which has been scheduled for March 24.
The demonstration outside the White House included a three-minute lie-in as called by the organizers, Teens For Gun Reform, a Washington, D.C. area organization established after the Parkland shooting.
President Trump, who address the nation after the terrible tragedy in Florida, has indicated his support for efforts to tighten federal background checks on gun buyers.
On Capitol Hill, the issues framed along party lines. Democrats say the country must have stricter controls over gun buying while Republicans tighter controls would be in contravention of the second amendment of the Constitution which allows people to own guns.
But protesters in Florida and elsewhere have been vocal in their criticism of National Rifle Association and lawmakers who use NRA funding in their election campaigns.
