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March 25, 2018 10:01 AM UTC

Massive #MarchForOurLives Completes Full Circle From 2013

  • 49 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

As the Denver Post reports, though plenty of our readers are still unwinding and resting their feet:

Thousands of protesters filled Civic Center park Saturday afternoon for Denver’s rally and march against gun violence, one among hundreds taking place across America and around the world following last month’s Florida high school shooting that claimed 17 lives…

Demonstrators — their ranks punctuated by schoolchildren and parents and many carrying signs denouncing gun violence in schools — began marching through downtown Denver after a nearly two-hour rally, during which many were crowded shoulder to shoulder.

CBS Denver:

James McDermott, a senior at Jefferson County Open High School, said Saturday’s rally and march is part of a larger movement for student safety. He told CBS4 he got involved in the organization of the event because he believes a change in laws to protect students like him is long overdue.

“Quite frankly I’d like to just see some action and some legislation. It’s been 20 years without much legislation and with the dogs that died on airlines — a tragedy in itself — it took days for Congressmen to say enough is enough with that, and how many school shootings does there have to be before they realize that student lives are important,” McDermott said.

We haven’t seen an estimate of the crowd that turned out yesterday to march in support of stronger gun control laws, but from the aerial video you can see above the crowd was quite massive–easily the biggest such event since the Women’s March in January. Since the school shooting in Parkland, Florida in February, the movement for stronger gun laws in America has exploded into the popular consciousness in much the same way the treatment of women in the workplace was catalyzed into a broadly unifying issue by President Donald Trump’s election. The public is speaking out en masse to create space for change that the politicians heretofore have not shown the courage to get behind.

Former Colorado Senators John Morse and Angela Giron (D-Vindicated).

Except in Colorado. In 2013, following another terrible mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora the previous year, Colorado’s Democratic-controlled legislature took the lead on this issue with new laws addressing background checks as well as the magazine capacity of semiautomatic weapons–both key to reducing the number and severity of mass shootings.

Democrats in Colorado paid a heavy price for their foresight, with two state senators recalled before 2013 ended and a third who chose to resign rather than suffer the same fate. For a little while, before Democrats retook all of those seats in the next two elections, it seemed like Colorado’s experience with gun control might be a cautionary tale rather than a model.

In the streets of Denver and across the nation yesterday, that question was put to rest forever.

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49 thoughts on “Massive #MarchForOurLives Completes Full Circle From 2013”

  1. I stopped my involvement in politics partially because work got crazy busy. But even more so because I was burned out. It was a giant fight where victory, when it happened, was in inches. I stopped believing significant change could occur.

    And these kids have given me back a belief in the potential of making a significant difference. They're owning the discussion making the NRA's legislators look helpless. And they are pushing for real change. Not little symbolic actions, but laws that would truly reduce gun violence.

    They're brilliant and effective and the question is not will they effect change, it's how much change.

    And for all that I am grateful.

    1. Hope you are back to stay, David.  I too am encouraged by the new activism we are seeing.  Not just with the teens (who are terrific!), but at the caucus and assemblies — I see a lot of millennials taking charge there as well smiley

    2. I am always glad Americans engage in our republic, if we can keep it.
      Some more than others, obviously.  But  the lesson for these kids – and others – is it's going to be a long, slog.  

      Sure, small group of committed people, yada, blada , yada.

      The hard things take more time than the change agents wish. And guns is hard.
       

  2. I'd like to see Morse or Giron take on Cory Gardner when he's up in 2020. They would have so much credibility as someone who did what was right, even at cost of their seat. Gardner would look little compared to either.

    1. I have massive respect for Senators Morse and Giron, but would like to see someone younger take on the junior Senator job. At the same time, I'd like to see some experience in governance – which would eliminate the only declared challenger for the job right now, Trish Zornio of Boulder.

      Can't have it all, I guess….or can we??

      Morgan Carroll 2016.jpg

      1. Never fail to knock people for standing up for better gun legislation by knocking any and all efforts saying they don't work.  Because people's right to live threatens your sense of entitlement to own an AR-15 .

        1. Yup. Please don't take away my need to free speech. I bet we can stop hate speech by removing the letter N from the alphabet. We would both need to reconsider our usernames…..

                1. Yeah, no. Laws work IF you are a law abiding citizen. If you are a criminal, you break the law. Ever wonder why these shootings always seem to happen in gun free zones? Don't they know you can't shoot somebody here?

                  I'll help you along: They don't give a fuck about your laws. 

                  1. Fort Hood was not a gun free zone. Soldiers were required to register firearms and keep them locked up, for the most part. The MPs were armed, of course.

                    The Pulse nightclub was not a gun free zone. Florida Law provides that no guns are allowed at the actual bar, where alcoholic beverages are dispensed. The dance floor and restaurant booths are OK, or it is at least a gray area.

                    The MGM hotel in Las Vegas, where the murderer stayed, was a gun free zone, but the country western venue where the massacre took place had no such designation.

                    The Bataclan in Paris was not a gun free zone. France does have very strict gun laws, and the terrorists obtained their weapons illegally. France does not designate “gun free zones” because, in order to carry a firearm, the carrier has to pass a psychological examination and his/her criminal record is examined. What a concept!

                    The point is that there isn’t any way to know if customers at the Bataclan, carrying small handguns, could have countered the attack by 8 militants carrying assault rifles. Probably not.

                    The homes and alleys and businesses and cars where 132 Coloradans were killed by guns in 2016 were not gun-free zones.

                    Most of the new crop of terrorists in the US are alienated white guys who identify with militias, have a history of domestic violence and possibly mental illness, believe Fox News is Holy Writ, and openly carry, whether they are permitted to or not.

                    So why blame the victims? Why blame the venue?
                    Why not blame the industry that markets weapons of war to civilians, that literally profits from the deaths of innocents. The more carnage, the higher the profits. The more fear, the more the shares skyrocket.
                    Who do you owe allegiance to, Negev?

                    1. Ok so wait Fort Hood MP's could have guns and stopped shooter. Pulse nightclub is not gun free but you can't have guns. What does that mean? Guys with guns stopped shooter. Just 5 hours later. MGM. Gun Free Zone. Bataclan France? AK's banned. Shooters stopped by armed defence. Did the shooters at the Bataclan pass a psychological exam? What a concept indeed. Can you carry a AK-47 machine gun in France IF you pass the exam. Non.

                      Why not blame the perpetrator? My allegiance is against the perpetrator. 

        1. Ha! These protesters are the best thing that has happened to the NRA in years! They have seen a nearly 4900% more interest in memberships since the shooting. David Hogg has done way more to promote traffic to the NRA than Ted Nugent ever could. 

              1. So, that justifies you and the NRA bullying these kids, who are in your eyes, old enough to be shot at, but not old enough to have an opinion about it?

                1. First thing I saw when I clicked on Negev's link (4900) was a reference to "left wing students" (quotes mine). Sort of removes any thunder from Negev's commentary.

                  I haven't been impressed that these protesting kids are either left wing or right wing. They are just kids; some of them already 18 and old enough to vote; wanting to be heard and saying ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. Reactions from Wayne LaPierre and Gina Loesch at the NRA; as well as other NRA big wigs; to these kids and their advocacy have been borderline reprehensible.

                  1. There are "kids" of all stripes who are part of the movement. The majority (like the majority of the country) are advocating for various controls. A sizable minority are advocating for outright bans. A modest minority are advocating for no bans, more effective (but limited) reforms (such as "red tag" removal for domestic violence and threats of harm).

                    What I have heard ALL of the students saying is there should be a great deal more conversation and debate about guns, that the NRA influence should be countered or limited, and that there HAS TO BE better things to do.

                    1. I wonder if ANY of them wonder why there are all these shootings in schools but not at football games. Its curious that adults can go into stadiums with 100,000 targets and not once have a shot fired, but a kid can't sit in school without risking death. There is the same amount of guns. Same amount of psychos, more target rich environment. Why is it we don't see crazy gun death counts at these events? Its simple: Security.

                      Now Mr. Hogg finds that wearing clear backpacks Infringes on his First Amendment rights and should not be implemented. 

                      It appears none of these kids hold a grudge for the security officer who failed to protect them, but the NRA has blood on their hands. They don't seem to show concern that the local police did not follow protocol and stop the shooter, but I should be prohibited from owning an AR. They show no notice that the FBI failed to identify the shooter after posting his intent on social media, yet they trust the federal government to enforce additional laws. 

                      I agree with them. There HAS TO BE better things to do. I, however, have seen the ideas these youth propose, time and time again, for decades. If they are serious in finding better things to do, they would be wise to see what hasn't worked in the past before demanding to repeat it. 

                       

                    2. And for decades, I’ve see the NRA and it’s ilk propose over and over and over “more guns” and deadlier guns as the solution to safety.  We should be the safest country on the planet ever by a factor of hundreds, no?

                      So tell me, (and by that I mean, don’t) whose solutions have been complete and abject failures?

                      And, while you’re on the subject of school exclusivity for mass shootings, don’t forget the nightclubs, and the concert venues, and the places of business, and the shopping centers, and the ad infinitum. . . 

                      But, I do agree with the “security” thing, which is why it might be a damn good idea to screen and identify everyone as they leave their homes for weapons?  I mean, they can have them outside their homes just so long as the proper authorities are aware of it and can track the safe return of the weapon to its abode. 

                2. Nobody is bullying these kids. I honor and sympathise with what they have been through and respect their opinion. I do not agree with them. They have jumped into the ring and if they feel that they are old enough to join the debate they are also old enough to participate as equals and not be treated with kid gloves. They have experienced the same treatment as other, older proponents of the same cause and by engaging in the debate are subject to the criticism of the opposition.   

                  2. It's the goddamn guns.  300,000,000 and 30,000 gun deaths a year.  As for law-abiding gun owners, it's amazing how many of them become shooters–alcohol, domestic violence, etc.  Guns make it really easy to become a violent actor.  And that's why these kids march.  

                    1. Read what you said real slow. Is it the guns or is it the shooters? Its amazing how many become shooters? your stat shows 0.0001%. Alcohol makes it really easy to become a violent actor where is the outrage?

                       

                  3. Negev — perhaps you aren't following the news on what has happened to the Parkland students. "In a new interview with 60 Minutes, several survivors of the horrific shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, detailed the death threats they've received since becoming outspoken anti–gun violence activists "

                    I may not understand a great deal, but I think "death threat" seems like a form of bullying, to say the least.

                    1. I would have to agree with you on that sir. I did not see that. What I can say for certain is I am not bullying them. 

              2. This is a lie Negev.  Nobody is blaming law abiding ammosexuals for their perverse practices.  Nobody is advocating banning the phallic symbols of ammosexual cult rituals worshipping the Anti-Christ.

                What people want are the same kind of protections that we have for motor vehicles like prevent people with multiple DUI's from getting behind the wheel when they are intoxicated.  You want to be perverted ammosexual then go ahead.  Nobody is stopping you but you creepy assholes don't need military weapons for your worship and our society doesn't need to sell guns to the truly violent and psychotic in our midst.

                I guess if you are really paranoid about these imaginary "enemies" coming to take your guns then maybe you are insane and need to see a shrink for your psychotic delusions.  Take a deep breath and come back to reality where no one is coming for your guns.  What a dip shit argument.  "The imaginary bad guys are coming for my guns.  I'm going to shit my pants with fear over the loss of my most precious worldly possessions."

                1. Wow that escalated quickly. Here is a video of Sen Feinstein proposing a bill to ban assault weapons yesterday. So no, its not a lie, and yes, somebody is advocating banning them. 

                  If you are looking for the same protections as preventing people from driving drunk you are doing it by taking the car away from the commuter.

                  If you are not coming for the guns you are wasting your time. Stop pretending you are not as it is the only way you will stop the shooting. Good luck with that. 

                   

                  1. Wow!  Someone is proposing a ban on selling military weapons to civilians.  How are the law abiding ammosexuals going to get their thrills if they can't squeeze the trigger of a military grade weapon? 

                    I thought you Pro-Life phonies were told to not lay up your treasures on earth.  Somebody has obviously been sleeping in the pews.  Pro-Life.  What a joke.

                  2. The taking commuter cars away excuse is so lame as a justification of your lie that sensible solutions to gun violence is blaming law abiding ammosexuals.

                    Your analogy would be better if you substituted tanks for cars.  How can those poor commuters get to work if they can't drive a tank with a fully swiveling turret?  What bullshit.

                    Nobody is coming to take your car away asshole.  Nobody.  Nobody is coming to take away your 43 AK-15 assault rifles and 30,000 rounds of body penetrating ammo.  Nobody.  You are purposely lying when you claim that law abiding ammosexuals are being blamed and everybody knows it.

                    1. Nice analogy, G. How can I get to work without a tank, indeed? It's my second amendment right, after all. Or is that first? It's in that  conchitooshin thingummy somewhere….

                    2. I know I wished I was driving a tank during many of my I-25 rush hour commutes . . . 

                      . . . er, just to excercise my rights, of course!

          2. So basically, you and your fellow ammosexuals are easily manipulated by fear.  Get used to it, we're coming for you.

            Your guns are useless at the ballot box hahahahaha!

              2. Um – ammo box is last on the list of boxes for a reason. If you've forgotten that, go find a lawless anarchy to live in – America is about using the other three boxes so that the fourth isn't necessary.

                1. OK – ballot, ballet, billet? then bullet. What is the 3rd box before bullet? It's a fine meme, just don't have all the pieces to it yet.

                  I thought that the 3rd amendment to the Constitution (we don't have to house soldiers anymore in our homes) took care of the "billet" problem.

            1. Maybe the same nutters who stockpile personal armories have decided to stockpile NRA memberships, too???

              . . . It is, after all, their right!

      3. Gun deaths are up …

        "In 2016, 781 people in Colorado died from gunshot wounds, nearly 100 more than the year before, according to state mortality statistics. The firearm death rate was the highest since at least 1999.

        The large majority of those deaths — 605 — were deaths by suicide, and Wolk said that is one example of how better research funding could illuminate areas where public health efforts can make an impact."

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