2018 United States gun violence protests

Students protesting gun violence at the White House, February 19, 2018

In 2018, protests against gun violence in the United States increased after a series of mass shootings, most notably at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14 that year. An organized protest in the form of a national school walkout occurred on March 14. March for Our Lives was held on March 24. Another major demonstration occurred April 20, 2018.

Demonstrations

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Rally in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

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U.S. gun sales have risen in the 21st century, peaking in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.[1][better source needed] "NICS" is the FBI's National Instant Background Check System.

The anti-gun violence group Never Again MSD, formed and led by survivors of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting,[2] held a rally on February 17 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which was attended by hundreds of students.[3]

The Fort Lauderdale rally was followed by other protests across the country. On February 19, a group of teenagers staged a "lie-in" outside the White House.[4] Hundreds of students marched to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 20.[5] Students also demonstrated at Florida's Capitol.[6] In Kansas, several hundred high school students protested on February 21.[7]

March 1 NRA-sponsor boycotts

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Main article: 2018 NRA boycott

The students from Parkland, Florida began encouraging companies who partner with the NRA—offering perks or discounts to members—to sever ties with the organization. Over a dozen[8] companies dropped their NRA partnership in the days following.[9]

Enough! National School Walkout

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Enough! National School Walkout
DateMarch 14, 2018 (2018-03-14)
LocationUnited States
TypeGun control advocacy
Organised byWomen's March Youth[10]
Students at Capistrano Valley High School in Mission Viejo, California raise their fists during the walkout, wearing orange wristbands symbolic of the movement[11]

The Enough! National School Walkout[12] was a walkout planned by organizers of the Students' March, that occurred on March 14, in response to the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. The protest had students, parents, and gun control students leaving schools for seventeen minutes (one minute for each person who died during the shooting) starting at 10:00 a.m. in their respective time zone.[13][14] The protest was held exactly one month after the Stoneman Douglas shooting.[15][16] The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) supported the student's activism.[17]

Students at Ingraham High School in Seattle launch a walkout against gun violence.
Total deaths in U.S. mass shootings since 1982—defined as four or more people shot and killed in one incident, excluding the perpetrator, at a public place, excluding gang-related killings.[18][19]

An estimated 3,000 schools and nearly 1 million students participated in the protest.[20][21][22][23] Thousands of students gathered in Washington, D.C., and observed 17 minutes of silence with their backs turned to the White House.[24]

At Greenbrier High School in Greenbrier, Arkansas three students elected to receive corporal punishment in the form of two paddlings on the thighs for their participation in the walkout. This required parental consent, and was administered the same day.[25] [26]

Nearly 200 U.S. colleges added their names to #NeverAgain Colleges,[27] including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, and the University of Florida.[28] The colleges would not penalize high school students who face disciplinary action as a result of participating in a peaceful Never Again MSD protest.[28]

U.S. broadcaster Viacom expressed support for the protests, including executive Shari Redstone making a $500,000 donation to March For Our Lives, and all Viacom U.S. cable networks (including MTV and Nickelodeon) suspending programming for seventeen minutes at a time at 10:00 a.m. in each time zone, in solidarity for the walkouts. The company also planned discussion and acknowledgement of the movement in programming and other output by its channels.[29][30]

March for Our Lives

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Main article: March for Our Lives
See also: List of March for Our Lives locations and March for Our Lives Portland

March for Our Lives was a student-led demonstration in support of tighter gun control that took place on March 24, 2018, in Washington, D.C., with over 800 sibling events throughout the United States and around the world.[31][32][33] Student organizers from Never Again MSD planned the march in collaboration with the nonprofit organization Everytown for Gun Safety.[34] The event followed the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, which was described by many media outlets as a possible tipping point for gun control legislation.[35][36][37]

Protesters urged for universal background checks on all gun sales, raising the federal age of gun ownership and possession to the age of 21, closing of the gun show loophole, a restoration of the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, and a ban on the sale of high-capacity magazines in the United States.[38] Turnout was estimated to be between 1.2 and 2 million people in the United States,[39][40][41] making it one of the largest protests in American history.

Northwestern Senior High School

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On Tuesday, April 10, 2018, hundreds of students walked out of their Miami high school to protest gun violence after four current or former classmates were shot off campus. The students chanted "no justice, no peace" Tuesday and carried "enough is enough" signs outside Northwestern Senior High School. They staged the protest after the weekend shooting deaths of 17-year-old Kimson Green, a 10th-grader who was about to become a member of the National Honor Society, and 18-year-old Rickey Dixon, a former Northwestern student. Two other current or former classmates were wounded. The shooting happened Sunday at an apartment complex in the Liberty City neighborhood, which is plagued by gun violence.[42][43]

April 20 The National School Walkout

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Main article: The National School Walkout

The National School Walkout[44] occurred nationally on April 20, 2018, which was the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre.[45] The movement was founded and organized by Lane Murdock of Ridgefield High School.[46][47][48] On the day of the walkout, student demonstrators wore safety orange and departed from over 2600 schools to push for legislative action against gun violence.[49]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ ● Gun sale data from Brownlee, Chip (December 31, 2023). "Gun Violence by the Numbers in 2023". The Trace. Archived from the original on January 28, 2024.
    ● NICS firearm check data downloaded via link at "NICS Firearm Background Checks: Month/Year" (PDF). FBI.gov. Federal Bureau of Investigation. January 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 29, 2024.
  2. ^ Witt, Emily (February 19, 2018). "How the Survivors of Parkland Began the Never Again Movement". The New Yorker. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  3. ^ Chavez, Nicole (February 18, 2018). "Florida school shooting survivors turn grief into action". CNN. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  4. ^ "Teens 'Lie In' at White House to Push for Stronger Gun Control". NPR. February 19, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  5. ^ Blumberg, Antonia (February 20, 2018). "Florida Students March To Stoneman Douglas High To Show Solidarity Over School Shooting" – via Huff Post.
  6. ^ FOX (February 21, 2018). "Time for action: Florida shooting survivors meet lawmakers". fox13news.com.
  7. ^ "Hundreds of Free State students stage walkout in protest of school shootings". LJWorld.com.
  8. ^ Wattles, Jackie (February 25, 2018). "More than a dozen businesses ran away from the NRA. How it went down". Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  9. ^ "Here Are the Student Protests Planned After the Florida School Shooting". Time. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  10. ^ Isabella Gomez; Amanda Jackson. "Women's March organizers are planning a national student walkout to protest gun violence". CNN. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  11. ^ Hardy, Alyssa. "The Simple Way You Can Support the National School Walkout". Teen Vogue. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  12. ^ "Women's March Youth EMPOWER". Women's March. Archived from the original on February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  13. ^ Gomez, Isabella; Jackson, Amanda (February 18, 2018). "Women's March organizers are planning a national student walkout to protest gun violence". CNN. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  14. ^ McCausland, Phil; Ali, Safia Samee (February 19, 2018). "Students seize control of gun debate, plan walkouts and march". NBC News. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  15. ^ "Thousands of Students Walked Out of School Today in Nationwide Protests. Here's Why". Time. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  16. ^ "'We want change,' say U.S. students in nationwide walkout". Reuters. March 14, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  17. ^ "The ACLU's Position on Gun Control". American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  18. ^ Follman, Mark; Aronsen, Gavin; Pan, Deanna. "US Mass Shootings, 1982–2023: Data From Mother Jones' Investigation". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  19. ^ Follman, Mark; Aronsen, Gavin; Pan, Deanna (2012). "A Guide to Mass Shootings in America". MotherJones.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Updated March 27, 2023 Describes inclusion criteria.
  20. ^ "Students from nearly 3,000 schools walk out to protest gun violence". USA TODAY. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  21. ^ "U.S. students stage school walkouts to protest gun violence". PBS NewsHour. March 14, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  22. ^ Dart, Tom (March 13, 2018). "Walkout Wednesday: students risk punishment for joining gun control protest". the Guardian. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  23. ^ Campo-Flores, Arian (March 15, 2018). "Gun-Violence Protests Drew an Estimated 1 Million Students". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  24. ^ "The Latest: More than 2,000 gather outside the White House". ABC News. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  25. ^ Croucher, Shane (March 16, 2018). "Is Paddling Legal? Arkansas Students Paddled for Taking Part in National School Walkout Against Violence". Newsweek. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  26. ^ Sinclair, Carla (March 16, 2018). "Three teens get corporal punishment for participating in national school walkout". BoingBoing. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  27. ^ Garcia, Alex. "#NeverAgain Colleges". #NeverAgain Colleges. Archived from the original on November 4, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  28. ^ a b Rothman, Michael (February 28, 2018). "Colleges promise not to penalize high school students disciplined for protesting gun violence". The Hill. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  29. ^ Desta, Yohana. "Viacom Networks Are Going Dark to Support National School Walkout". HWD. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  30. ^ Evans, Greg (March 14, 2018). "Viacom Channels Go Dark For 17 Minutes In Solidarity With Student Anti-Gun Violence Marchers". Deadline. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  31. ^ Carlsen, Audrey; Patel, Jugal (March 22, 2018). "Across the United States". The New York Times. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  32. ^ Editorial (March 21, 2018). "Take assault-weapons ban to the people". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  33. ^ Langone, Alix (March 25, 2018). "These Photos Show How Big the March for Our Lives Crowds Were Across the Country". Time. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  34. ^ Cooper, Kelly-Leigh (February 18, 2018). "American teens demand 'Never Again'". BBC News. Archived from the original on February 18, 2018. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  35. ^ Miller, Sarah (February 17, 2018). "'We will be the last mass shooting': Florida students want to be tipping point in gun debate". USA Today. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  36. ^ Petrusich, Amanda; Peterson, Mark (March 24, 2018). "The Fearless, Outraged Young Protesters at the March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C." The New Yorker. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  37. ^ Reilly, Katie (February 21, 2018). "Teachers Are Fighting for Gun Control After Parkland". Time. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  38. ^ Valentine, Claire (March 24, 2018). "Everything You Need to Know About the March for Our Lives". Paper. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  39. ^ "The odds that a gun will kill the average American may surprise you". Business Insider. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  40. ^ "More than 2 million joined March for Our Lives protests in 90 percent of U.S. voting districts". Newsweek. March 26, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  41. ^ "Yesterday's global roar for gun control". Axios.com. March 25, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  42. ^ "Miami Students Walk Out to Protest Off-Campus Gun Violence". US News. April 10, 2018.
  43. ^ "Northwestern High Students Stage Peaceful Gun Violence Protest". April 10, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  44. ^ "#NationalSchoolWalkout". National School Walkout. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  45. ^ "Students plan protests, Washington march, to demand gun control..." Reuters. February 19, 2018.
  46. ^ "Students and teachers will boycott school until Congress does something about gun violence". Newsweek. February 17, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  47. ^ Ormseth, Matthew. "15-Year-Old From Ridgefield Behind Nationwide Walkout Protesting Gun Violence In Schools". courant.com. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  48. ^ Cameron, Dell. "Meet the 15-Year-Old Behind the Viral Campaign to End School Shootings". Gizmodo. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  49. ^ Coffman, Keith. "U. S. Students Walk Out Again to Protest Gun Violence". Reuters. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
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