March For Our Lives Hosts Rally at Texas State Capitol to Demand Common Sense Gun Safety Laws

Youth Activists Organized Rallies at State Capitols Nationwide to Mark Fifth Anniversary of Historic March For Our Lives Following 2018 School Shooting in Parkland, Florida 

Austin, TX – Today, March For Our Lives marked its fifth anniversary with a rally at the Texas State Capitol in Austin. Speakers included MFOL Board Member Trevon Bosley, Rep. Mihaela Plesa, and parents of Santa Fe and Uvalde victims.

Nearly a full year since the horrific mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, youth activists, survivors, and families of gun violence victims came together to fight for S.B. 145, a bill to raise the minimum age to purchase an assault weapon, which is part of MFOL’s longstanding commitment to Uvalde families. While people across the nation have joined Uvalde families to demand change, Governor Abbott and the state legislature have sat on their hands leaving Texans to ask not if the next mass shooting will occur in the state but when.

In the wake of the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, young people turned their grief into action and birthed a movement that has achieved the unimaginable, successfully passing 250+ gun laws including the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act – the single most important piece of federal gun legislation in 30 years. Unfortunately, young people are still dying needlessly looking down the barrel of a gun, with gun violence now the leading cause of death among children and young people. Texas lawmakers haven’t done a single thing to prevent such a tragedy like Uvalde from happening again – so, once again, young people came together to demand that the Texas legislature take immediate action to save lives.

“Similar to the song title from a very famous Texan, Beyoncé, I must say, America Has A Problem,” said Trevon Bosley, a March For Our Lives Board Member. “America has a problem admitting that its devotion to guns has led to the killing of little kids inside and outside of schools. America has a problem accepting bullets are the only thing in this country that doesn’t discriminate. America has a problem regulating weapons of war that flood our streets that even police don’t want to encounter. America has a problem with greedy politicians who’d rather line their pockets with money soaked in the blood of our loved ones rather than pass any meaningful legislation.”

“It’s BS that March For Our Lives even has to exist,” said Brett Cross, the father of Uvalde victim Uziyah Garcia. “The adults in this country have continuously failed our youth. We failed them by not voting people into Congress and into the state legislature that cared more for humanity than for the almighty dollar. We failed them by allowing our lawmakers to let the AR-15 ban expire. Adults need to take young peoples’ lead before you’re forced into this fight and your child never makes it back home from school.”

“I think I am not alone when I say I felt lost, terrified, and mostly powerless,” said Katie Chou, Co-Leader of March For Our Lives Dallas. “After all, what can a 16-year-old do with the biggest struggle in this country? But there is a quote – “If not now, then when?” We’ve heard of it in classrooms, in speeches, and maybe even on Pinterest. And I’m here to tell you that it is incomplete. The first half of the part is “If not you, then who?” If not us – the youth – then who else is going to fight for our future?”

The Austin rally capped off a week of rallies across the nation to mark the fifth anniversary of the March For Our Lives. These rallies sent a simple message: Young people refuse to die waiting for change. We will continue to fight for our lives. And we intend to win.