A MONTH after 17 were killed in a school massacre in Parkland, Florida, students of some 3,000 schools all over the United States took to the streets in their towns and cities last Wednesday to carry on their protest against gun violence in American schools.
After a former student had gunned down 14 students and three teachers of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the nation’s officials engaged in the usual debate on what to do about these incidents involving automatic weapons that properly should be only in the hands of soldiers in battle. President Donald Trump said it was primarily a mental health issue. He came up with a number of proposals, including arming faculty members to protect their classes. He also spoke of raising the age limit to 21 years for those allowed to purchase guns.
But, as in all the previous school shooting incidents, the month passed without any significant action in Congress.
The House of Representatives passed legislation authorizing federal grants totaling $50 million a year to provide assistance to schools and local police for training, reporting systems, threat assessment, intervention teams, and school-police coordination. But nothing on gun control; nothing on banning the sale of automatic weapons to civilians; nothing on the suggestion to limit gun purchases to 21-year-olds.
The Florida State Legislature did push forward with state legislation to raise the required for anyone to buy a firearm and this was signed by the state governor. But the Florida state government was immediately sued by the National Rifle Association, a powerful organization opposing any effort to restrict the right to bear arms in the US.
Students held protest rallies in various cities of the US this week, from Los Angeles to New York to Boston to Washington, DC. They were joined by their parents and their teachers as they voiced their grief over the death of so many young people over the years and their outrage at government inaction.
The student rallies a month after the Florida massacre could indicate a developing change in Americans’ attitudes on gun violence and gun control. But it is highly unlikely that the US Congress will be enacting legislation restricting gun acquisition any time soon.
There may be another mass shooting – possibly in three to four months, if past incidents are any indication – and there will again be rallies and demonstrations. But any real change does not seem likely.