PARKLAND, FLA. (WSVN) - The victims of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have been waiting for justice for four years and five months, but as they wait for opening arguments in the penalty trial of Nikolas Cruz, many of them have been fighting for a different kind of justice: safer schools.
Aerial views of the Parkland campus on Feb. 14, 2018 showed students ushered out of buildings with their hands in the air.
In the days and weeks after the shooting, some students quickly went from victim to advocate.
“I understand what’s it like to text my parents goodbye. ‘I might never ever get to see you again. I love you,'” said shooting survivor Alfonso Calderon.
From local city halls to the halls of the state legislature, these students laid down the brutal reality of what it’s like to face a killer and demanded real action.
“Those in power have not taken action,” said shooting survivor Ryan Dietsch.
Their cries for change grew louder and were joined by the voices of millions of students around the country and the globe who took part in school walkouts in solidarity.
Just over a month after the massacre, on March 24, they marched on Washington, D.C.
March for Our Lives was a two-day, star-studded event that brought parents and students from around the country to the nation’s capital.
“We will accept nothing less than comprehensive gun control,” said a speaker at the event.
Some of the speakers were victims of school shootings themselves. They spoke passionately about wanting laws changed so students can be safe in school.
But it was Stoneman Douglas student X Gonzalez who made the most poignant speech, without using words. She stood silent in front of the crowd for the same amount of time that Cruz shot up Building 12.
“Since the time that I came out here, it has been six minutes and 20 seconds,” she said as she broke her silence. “Fight for your lives before it’s someone else’s job.”
The fight for change landed the student organizers on the cover of Time magazine.
“We must stand up together as a unified front as Americans to fight for change, because no one else will,” said shooting survivor David Hogg.
These former Stoneman Douglas students are still fighting for change in the gun laws. Many still serve with the March for Our Lives charity, which grows bigger with every school shooting.
“You can’t keep up anymore. People cannot keep up with the shootings that are happening in this country,” said shooting survivor Cameron Kasky.
While the former students point out each school shooting brings back horrendous memories, they said it also hardens their resolve to change the laws, get rid of the guns and still have hope that no student has to ever face being killed in the classroom again.
The U.S. has seen incremental change in gun reform. On June 25, President Joe Biden signed into law legislation that will incentivize states to pass red flag laws and expand background checks for 18- to 21-year-olds. Some advocates, however, said it still doesn’t go far enough.
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