Florida shooting survivors will trek 400 miles in bid for US gun reform

A protester holds a defaced placard at a rally calling for more gun control three days after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
REUTERS
Fiona Simpson20 February 2018

One hundred students from the school at the centre of the Florida mass shooting will trek 400 miles to urge politicians to prevent a repeat of the massacre.

Seventeen people died when a teenage gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last week.

The suspect, 19-year-old ex-student Nikolas Cruz, was detained shortly after the Valentine’s Day rampage.

The students plan to hold a rally on Wednesday in a bid to put pressure on the state's Republican-controlled legislature to consider a sweeping package of gun-control laws.

A student protester chants at a rally calling for more gun control three days after the shooting
REUTERS

On Monday some GOP politicians agreed to consider the proposals.

Shortly after the shooting, several legislative leaders were taken on a tour of the school to see the damage firsthand.

"I really think they are going to hear us out," said Chris Grady, a 19-year-old student who is going on the trip.

He said he hoped the trip would lead to some "commonsense laws like rigorous background checks".

Students have also vowed to push Congress to implement stricter gun laws in the US.

Hundreds of chanting protesters gathered on Monday at a downtown Los Angeles park, demanding tougher background checks and other gun-safety measures after the shooting.

Florida Shooting Vigil - In pictures

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Some signs held up by the California demonstrators read: "Your Children Are Counting On You."

Senator Bill Galvano, a Republican and the incoming Florida senate president, said the state Senate was preparing a package that would include raising the age to purchase any firearm to 21.

Pupils at a vigil for those killed in the shooting
AP

He also vowed to create a waiting period for purchasing any type of firearm, banning bump stocks that can allow semi-automatic guns to spray bullets quickly and creating gun-violence restraining orders.

Authorities said Cruz had a string of run-ins with school authorities that ended with his expulsion.

Pupils mourn those killed in the attack
AP

Police also were repeatedly called to his house throughout his childhood.

Cruz's lawyers said there were repeated warning signs that he was mentally unstable and potentially violent. Yet he is alleged to have legally purchased a semi-automatic rifle.

Florida high school shooting - February 2018

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"We need to make sure everything is working and to learn from the experience," said Mr Galvano, who was among those who visited the school.

The Senate is also considering boosting spending on mental health programmes for schools and giving law-enforcement greater power to involuntarily hold someone considered a danger to themselves.

The body will also look at a proposal to give a teacher at every school the authority to carry a gun.

But some Republicans questioned whether additional gun restrictions were the answer.

"I really don't want to see this politicised into a gun debate," Republican Senator Dennis Baxley said.

Referring to gun-control advocates, he said: "Sometimes I wish they were right, that this would fix it, but it won't ... We have a terrible problem with obesity, but we're not banning forks and spoons."

Cruz made his first appearance in court on Monday.

Donald Trump said on Monday that he was supportive of a bipartisan effort to strengthen federal background checks for gun purchases.

Students are also calling for anti-gun violence demonstrations in Washington and other cities on March 24.

Organisers behind the anti-Trump Women's March called for a 17-minute nationwide walkout by teachers and students on March 14, and a gun-control group was calling for a rally to ban assault weapons on Wednesday at the Florida Capitol.

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