Students Protesting Gun Violence Hold ‘Lie-In’ in Front of White House as Trump Golfs in Florida
President Just Miles Away From Funerals for Teens Shot to Death in Parkland MassacreÂ
With a flag still flying at half staff on the roof of the White House in honor of the victims of the Parkland school shooting, a group of High School students stage a “die-in†to call for stricter gun laws. pic.twitter.com/kjmnZ0zqZr
— Ryan Nobles (@ryanobles) February 19, 2018
Students on this President’s Day are taking turns, 17 at a time, to stage a “lie-in” in from of a White House with its flag at half-staff, to protest gun violence after the latest school mass shooting left 17 people from Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School dead.
They started with 17 young people lying on the ground in front of the White House.. every 3 minutes more of their peers joined them, symbolically making note of the amount of time it took for the shooter in the Parkland, FL tragedy to obtain a firearm. https://t.co/fZMbNjBGNQ
— Ryan Nobles (@ryanobles) February 19, 2018
The students are from the Washington, D.C. area, showing just how rapidly student activism has taken hold across the country. Down in Florida, the president is on a three-day weekend. His advisors warned him the optics of golfing Saturday or Sunday would not be favorable, so close to the Parkland, Florida mass shooting, so he waited until Monday to hit the links.
Tune into the @ABC7News Facebook page for a live stream of the lie-in at the White House. pic.twitter.com/lhI5mvUbEc
— Caroline Patrickis (@Cpatrickis) February 19, 2018
According to the White House press pool the president left Mar-a-Lago at 8:55 AM and arrived at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach at 9:09 AM.
Not far from the president’s golf outing, his 98th since being sworn in, are two funerals today for students killed in the school shooting on Valentine’s Day. Luke Hoyer was 15, and Alaina Petty was 14.Â
Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.
NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.
Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.