A Florida School Shooting Survivor Calls Out Lawmakers: ‘Ideas Are Great’ But We Need Action

CNN’s New Day sent anchor Alisyn Camerota down to Parkland, Florida, in the wake of yet another mass shooting tragedy — this time at Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 students and teachers were gunned down by alleged 19-year-old gunman Nikolas Cruz on Wednesday. Camerota interviewed survivors of the massacre, including one particularly well spoken young man, David Hogg, whose sister lost two of her friends yesterday, who gave an impassioned statement about why we need to finally step up and take action.

“Sadly, my sister, she’s a freshman and she had two of her best friends die. And that’s not acceptable. That is something we should not let happen in this country, especially when we’re going to school. It’s something we really need to take a look at. The fact that this is the 18th school shooting, and this is only February, it’s a testament to where this country has come, and how far. We need to dig out of this hole. We need to step out of it and take a look back and realize, there is something seriously wrong here. And some of our policy makers, and some people need to look in the mirror and take some action. Because ideas are great, but ideas stay ideas and children die.”

Well said. Gun control arguments are in full force (as always) following this tragedy, and Second Amendment advocates are pushing back hard. Sadly, however, these tragedies never do seem to bring the action this student is demanding.

Camerota then spoke with Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) who commended the young man on his bravery. When she pointed out that Parkland had been named the safest town in Florida, Deutch did not hold back with his two cents on the tragedy.

“All that that shows us is that no one is immune from this kind of slaughter. And look, I have to tell you, for all of the people who are saying ‘you can’t politicize this’ … the only people who are politicizing what happened here, the loss of life, the tragedy, one of the worst days that everyone here will ever experience are the people who don’t want to take action, people who are looking for any reason to give congress one more chance to be silent. And you shouldn’t have to feel the way I do, you shouldn’t have to stand with a group of cameras in front of a high school where kids were slaughtered to want to do something.”

Powerful words, indeed.

(Via CNN)

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