Chin high and tears streaming, Florida school shooting survivor Emma Gonzalez stood silent in front of thousands gathered for the “March for Our Lives” rally in Washington, DC
She continued to stand silently as a few crowd members shouted out support. She remained silent as tentative chants broke out. Her silence continued as those attending also fell quiet, many weeping.
The gripping moment on Saturday stretched for six minutes and 20 seconds, the amount of time Gonzalez said it took a shooter to kill 17 people and wound 15 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, last month.
You can watch part of her emotional speech below and the full speech here:
“Everyone who has been touched by the cold grip of gun violence understands,” Gonzalez told the hushed crowed, describing the long hours spent waiting for authorities to identify their slain classmates, the horror of discovering many of them had breathed their last breaths before many students even knew a “code red” alert – designed to warn staffers and students of a potential threat – had been called.
“Six minutes and 20 seconds with an AR-15 and my friend Carmen (Schentrup) would never complain to me about piano practice,” she said, her voice strong but her throat momentarily catching. “Aaron Feis would never call Kyra ‘Miss Sunshine.’ Alex Schachter would never walk into school with his brother Ryan.”
Gonzalez went on, listing name after name of those killed at the school on February 14.
And then she stopped, her breath heaving but remaining composed, looking straight ahead and silent.
Seemingly unsure what to do, the crowed waited. Some appeared to catch her intent right away, watching with hands covering mouths, foreheads wrinkled and tears falling. Chants of “never again” broke out for a time, and later someone came out from the wings of the stage to put a hand on her shoulder and whisper in her ear.
Amelia Lester explains why the aftermath of the school shooting in Florida feels different to that of any shooting before it. Post continues after audio.
The silence by now had spread to the thousands thronging Pennsylvania Avenue. Protesters, parents, television news crews waited to see what Gonzalez would do next.
The beeping of a digital alarm broke the silence.
“Since the time that I came out here, it has been six minutes and 20 seconds. The shooter has ceased shooting and will soon abandon his rifle, blend in with the students as they escape and walk free for an hour before arrest,” she said, voice clear. “Fight for your lives before it’s someone else’s job.”
Gonzalez is one of several teens from the school to become gun control activists in the wake of the shooting. Their efforts have galvanised youth nationwide, with hundreds of thousands attending similar rallies across the country.
As the three-hour rally wrapped up, Gonzalez assigned some homework for the demonstrators:
“One final plug,” she said. “Get out there and vote.”
Top Comments
Emma reminds me of the fictional character, Katniss Everdeen. She is strong and commands your attention. She is a testament to our youth. Not many 17 year olds could organise a nationwide rally attended by hundreds and thousands of people. She is absolutely incredible and her parents should be so proud of her.
How, exactly, did a 17 year old organise a nationwide rally attended by hundreds and thousands of people?
The kids from Stoneman Douglas are driving this - the are harnessing the awesome power of SM to push their message across. I would not underestimate the younger generation, they are the voters and leaders of tomorrow.
How is it that you so readily believe that a 17-year-old organised a nationwide rally via social media but not the eye-witness testimony of students and teachers that contradict the official story?
Because it’s conspiracy theory nonsense - dreamt up by paranoids who think mass shootings are “staged” to reduce civilian ccess to guns.
Meanwhile the fact all these damaged boys come from broken homes, raised by single mothers, no male role model in sight, is glanced over.
There are children from broken homes all over the world, regular mass shootings are unique to America. Don’t insult the plethora of wonderful single parents who raise their children perfectly fine on their own. My husband was raised by a single mother and is successful, honest, hard working and wouldn’t hurt a fly.
Which boys Richard? If you are referring to Cruz, he was adopted and raised by a well-to-do couple where the mother was widowed and then died. He was then taken in by a caring, intact family. Harris and Klebold at Columbine also came from well-to-do, intact families. I’m afraid you’ve got it wrong as usual Richard.
Many mass shooters are not mentally ill, they have personality disorders, which are ignited and/or exacerbated by circumstances, and wholly aggravated by unfettered access to guns. They are violent, angry, disconnected individuals who are born wired wrong and just looking for any excuse to inflict maximum damage and achieve notoriety.
Yet you and all the gun control advocates are entitled to insult the plethora of successful, honest and hard working (and I would add law abiding) citizens who own gun and wouldn't hurt a fly?
So the fact that 27 of the last 28 mass shootings were carried out by the products of single mother households isn't something you'd like to even investigate further? Even though guns might not be as accessible across most disarmed 1st world populations we see this poor form of raising boys exhibit itself in other statistics such as street violence, drug abuse, criminality, prison population. The single biggest risk factor in putting a child on a path to self destruction & much worse when they are young adults is to alienate them from their father. I know the societal programming is the idea that men are disposable, thus they should have the capacity to just accept whatever choices are made for them by the women in their lives. Even if that's removing the one invested male role model from their lives. But isn't that what feminism is raging against being done to women. Men making choices for women, albeit a soft form of sexism, in that men compete with each other to attract women via offering comfort & resources. Now we have feminists designing much of the social policies of the first world, removing fathers from childrens lives. Destroying families. Without a father to guide him; how is a boy going to make sense of his lived experience, in that everything masculine, that is the very nature of him, is worthless & disposable. Their is nothing soft about the hard sexism men experience from women. The lived experience of men & boys in this age is perhaps an impossibility for women to relate to or even recognize. But the privileged can't see their own privilege.