When the news of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSDHS) broke on Valentine’s Day afternoon, it broke like any other mass shooting story has: it incited the gun control debate yet again, and many politicians funded by the National Rifle Association (NRA) gave their “thoughts and prayers” for the students of Parkland. What they don’t understand is that these kids are their worst nightmare.
When the Sandy Hook mass shooting occured back in December of 2012, many of the student survivors were too young to fully comprehend and form opinions on what had happened to them. This is not the case, however, for the students of MSDHS; these students have a voice. They have a voice that is eloquent and articulate, one that is powerful, and they are using it judiciously. People like Emma Gonzalez and Cameron Kasky are on the front lines of the renewed fight for gun control, and currently pose a huge threat not only to NRA-backed politicians, but the NRA itself.
Teenage activists are leading the fight. They are leading the charge against the NRA by working to persuade corporations to end their partnerships with the NRA, and it’s working. Already, major corporations like Delta Airlines, Hertz, Enterprise, and many more have cut ties with the NRA.
Given this cultural shift, the NRA will have difficulty obtaining sponsors for their annual convention, and they have no one to blame but themselves. According to the Washington Times, NRA Vice President Wayne LaPierre opposed expanding background checks for buyers, calling the need for more background checks an “absolute fallacy,” even though background checks are strongly supported by not only a majority of Americans, but a majority of the NRA’s members as well. By forcing organizations and corporations to cut ties with the NRA, maybe they will finally embrace common sense gun laws.
These kids are our future. They refuse to sit back and let Parkland become just another name in the books. They are out there fighting to protect other people from experiencing what they had to go through. Once they reach voting age, many of them by the next presidential election, they aren’t going to stop until they have voted out every congressman and senator supported by the NRA. And until the NRA’s leadership changes its attitude, they will continue to lose partnerships as organizations decide they value the lives of American citizens more than the NRA’s money.