Florida Student School Gun Safety Action Manifesto

First of all, Congratulations. For the first time in memory the survivors and victims of the Florida school shootings have actually forced some constructive state legislative action in Florida, inspired legislative action in Oregon, and have scared some major corporations into publicly separating themselves from the NRA. Nearly everybody else, Congress, state and local governments, hundreds of phony media experts, a news media weary of the story and the president of the United states are heading for the exits. If signed into Florida law, The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act is likely to be tied up in court for many years. Still, just passing a bill of this magnitude is a crucial milestone. There is now a template to follow. Nevertheless . . ..

The Next Steps in Florida: Students Need to Work Directly to Get Rid of Guns

The next steps are up to you. Children in every gun family know where the family’s guns are, legal and illegal. In almost every gun family there is someone who is fearful or frightened that guns are so nearby. Now is the time to get rid of those guns.

1. Forget the lie ins, die ins and cry ins. Come home from the marches, media stunts, media interviews and town halls. Stop making the talkers rich or famous by doing nothing.
2. Ask yourself:

• How many guns have all these demonstrations, noisy people and their talking taken off the street? ZERO
• How many gun purchases will all these do-nothing folks prevent? ZERO
• How many guns are off the street from town hall meetings? ZERO (CNN makes tens of $millions daily)
• How many deaths, and woundings, many of children, will all this talk prevent? ZERO
• How many new shooters have been stimulated, educated and activated by all the talk and information carelessly and sensationally shared? Certainly some, maybe many.

3. Only guns that are gone can’t kill.
4. Go to your parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, sisters and brothers, cousins, ask them to simply turn their extra guns in to the police, the ATF or the FBI. Ask your relatives and friends to ask the gun owners they know to do the same.
5. Ask the people you know if they know people who should not have guns to report those people to authorities. Report them yourself if you have to.

Do you need a Congressman or Senator to do this . . .? No

Do you need town hall meetings to do this . . .? No

Do you need a television or any other kind of reporter to do this . . .? No

Do you need social media to do this . . .? No

Do you need a state legislator to do this . . .? No

Do you need the president of the United states to do this . . .? No

Does anyone need to know you’re doing this . . .? No

You will get some, maybe many guns . . .if those who have them truly love and care about your safety.

If an adult warns you that doing this is dangerous, they could be right. Ask for their help and remind them of where you are going to school tomorrow.

The painful reality up until now is that despite all the optimism mostly expressed by the non-victims, non-survivors, noncombatants, completely uninformed reporters and news organizations (The information they need doesn’t exist, by federal law), activists, the self-appointed and self-anointed and media-paid spokespeople, nothing is likely to happen until something concrete does.

The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, if it becomes Florida law will take some years to fully implement. Both Florida and Oregon leave AR-15s legal and available.

A gun that goes away today from the glove compartment, the home or business, backyard shed or workshop, basement closet or truck; out of the hands of people you know who shouldn’t have them, will not kill you or someone you care about.