SUNRISE, Fla. — As Florida State Sen. Shevrin Jones stood onstage in Sunrise, reading aloud the names of 31 victims gunned down May 14 at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, and Tuesday at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, he burst into tears. He blamed the influence of gun lobbies. He blamed “ineffective leaders.” He blamed the uniquely American phenomenon that “10 people can be killed in broad daylight with an assault rifle.”
Some 15 local and state lawmakers who stood onstage with him patted his shoulders and bowed their heads. Some 200 volunteers and attendees standing on the amphitheater green did the same.
“I am convinced,” State Sen. Jones said, “that we’re going to organize and vote them out, so not one more child is raised in a society where gun violence exists.”
In the wake of the Uvalde and Buffalo mass shootings, state lawmakers like Sen. Jones and several Democratic groups held a vigil and gun-control rally on Saturday morning at Sunrise Amphitheater, delivering speeches loaded with anger and raw grief but also tempered by optimism.
The event was jointly organized by Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, started in the aftermath of the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where 28 people were killed. Joining them was their related organization, Students Demand Action, along with Broward Young Democrats, Ruth’s List Broward, the Broward Democratic Hispanic Caucus, Broward for Progress and Change The Ref.
The rally called on state and federal lawmakers to pass so-called “gun sense” legislation, and talking points from 10 speakers ranged from universal background checks to banning assault rifles to raising the Florida minimum age for gun ownership from 18 to 21.
Charlie Crist, a Florida governor candidate running in the Democratic primary, sat on the amphitheater steps with Moms Demand Action volunteers but didn’t speak at the podium. (His gubernatorial rivals, Nikki Fried and Annette Taddeo, didn’t make an appearance.)
“This is such garbage. We’ve got to stop this,” Crist told the Sun Sentinel, calling for assault weapon bans and expanded background checks for new gun owners. He also defied recent calls by Gov. Ron DeSantis to sign “constitutional carry” gun legislation into law before he leaves the governor’s office.
“This is an inflection moment,” Crist says. “There’s something different about what happened in Texas. I don’t know what it is, but it is giving courage to governors and lawmakers to finally do the right things.”
In a speech peppered fury and f-bombs, Change the Ref co-founder Manuel Oliver said criticisms about officers’ handling of Tuesday’s mass shooting in Uvalde “distract” from the bigger problem: gun legislation.
“I say, kids, don’t go back to school,” says Oliver, the father of a 17-year-old Parkland shooting victim, proceeding to curse out U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio in Spanish. “Don’t just walk out. Why not walk away? Kids shouldn’t go to school anymore until they’re 100% safe in that space. What do you mean, you’re just a f—ing mayor and you can’t do anything? I’m just a f—ing father! So do something from the soul of your heart.”
As he spoke, audience members shouted “Vote them out! Vote them out!” and brandished signs that read, “Protect Kids Not Guns.” A Sunrise kindergarten teacher carried a sign that read, “I came to teach, not join a warzone.”
Other speakers included Broward School Board member Debbi Hixon, whose husband, Chris Hixon, was among 17 students and staff murdered by a school shooter at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018.
“I’m frustrated, angry and heartbroken,” she says. “It’s great that we’re protesting but we must demand something gets done. People believe in red-flag laws. So get people who believe in universal background checks to get off their asses and vote!”
Another speaker, Fla. State Sen. Lauren Book, played a key role in shaping school-safety legislation in the aftermath of the Parkland shooting. One of them: Alyssa’s Law, named after Parkland shooting victim Alyssa Alhadeff, now mandates mobile panic buttons are installed on teacher and staff cellphones to alert police to emergencies. Another, Jaime’s Law, in honor of Jaime Guttenberg, would require background checks for ammunition buyers but has stalled in the state Legislature.
“We’re working on all the ways we can to target gun violence, because this is not OK. We’re standing in the blood of children,” she says. “I’m the biggest cynic there is but it’s working, slowly, to push policies to keep families safe.
Other speakers included State Rep. (and former Parkland mayor) Christine Hunschofsky, Sunrise Mayor Mike Ryan and Alyssa Gonzalez, a 23-year-old volunteer for Students Demand Action.
The event was only one of multiple planned gun control rallies sparked in the wake of the Buffalo and Uvalde mass shootings. On Thursday, March for Our Lives organizers added more demonstrations: As of Saturday, 11 events are planned across Florida, including in Parkland, Coral Gables and Orlando, along with more than 200 planned rallies nationwide.
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